Dear Editor:
I am writing in response to Dr. Sportelli's Aug. 16 article on the treatment of children ["Treating Children: Why Do the Urban Legends Continue"]. Should children be treated by chiropractors? Yes, there is a certain rationale there, but (and there always is a "but," when considering chiropractic) would you want your child, or a child of a dear one, subjected to any number of chiropractors out there who appear to be in it just for the money - so they can bill out for maximum gain under the guise of "subluxations"?
We all know there is major uncertainty with regard to chiropractic ethics in our own community. It is one thing to dupe the adult world, but quite another thing to go after the children. And how many visits would you propose? If 90 for an adult, why not 900 for a child?
And let's not forget the history of chiropractic pediatrics. It all started because of a Medicaid loophole allowing chiropractic care for children under the age of 18. Once our money mongers and practice managers got hold of that - Shazam! We now have a new field of chiropractic care. Shame, shame, shame!
I wonder if Dr. Sportelli would freely recommend any chiropractor to someone who called asking if chiropractic care would be appropriate for his or her pain-free child? Does he have the faith that an overwhelming majority of DCs would provide sound and reasonable care to that child, or would he recommend the parent call the state Board of Chiropractic Examiners for a (hopefully) good referral?
The biggest shame is that the chiropractic model has a very logical approach to health care for the growing child, both in a preventive, holistic way, as well as having answers for spinal conditions such as torticollis, headaches and scoliosis - but it lies mainly dormant because of society's mistrust of many chiropractors. We should be leading the field in the research of scoliosis, but instead, we are hard-pressed to find ourselves allowed in many schools for simple spinal screenings. And who do we have to blame? Ourselves, for not addressing overutilization and other ethical questions within our community.
Paul J. Conway, DC
Berlin, Maryland
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