Chiropractor Holds 2-Week-Old Baby Upside Down In Disturbing Video, Sparks Outrage

An Australian chiropractor’s Facebook video showing him holding a 2-week-old baby upside down by the ankles while performing a controversial treatment has sparked outrage.

The now-deleted video shows Dr. Andrew Arnold demonstrating a spinal treatment on the baby. He holds the baby upside down by his leg and repeatedly taps him on the head. He also uses a spring-loaded device on the baby’s spine and neck. The infant is seen crying throughout.

The Victorian health minister has now demanded actions against the chiropractor. Calling the video "deeply disturbing,” Health Minister Jenny Mikakos said Tuesday, "It's appalling that young children and infants are being exposed to potential harm. That's why I've written to the Chiropractic Board of Australia and AHPRA (the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency) to urge them to take the necessary action.”

Mikakos added that though the practice is not illegal in the country, there was "no credible substantiating evidence" about the effectiveness of such practices.

"There is nothing at the moment that prevents chiropractors from undertaking these risky practices, and this is why I'm urging them to issue urgent advice to all of their members — to all chiropractors in Australia — about the risks of these types of practices. The advice that I've received is that the risk of undertaking spinal manipulation on small infants far outweighs any perceived benefit," she said, ABC reported.

"Newborn babies are extremely fragile and it's important to be aware that the damage done to an infant may not be immediately obvious to parents and may not manifest until years later,” she added.

Warning: the video may be disturbing to some viewers.

The Chiropractic Board of Australia confirmed it was aware of the video.

“The board has made a strong statement about the care of children and has written to every chiropractor in Australia to warn them to comply with their professional and ethical obligations, which are clearly outlined in the board’s code of conduct for chiropractors,” a spokeswoman said, the Guardian reported.

Julian Rait, president of the Australian Medical Association's Victorian branch, said action was taken against a chiropractor practicing similar treatments three years ago.

"To see it again three years later after we've already drawn attention to the potential risks of this particular treatment is rather disturbing to us," he said.

Dr. Penny Adams, a medical expert, said there is no evidence or guarantee that such treatments work.

“If you look at the position statement from the Royal Australian College of Physicians … there is no evidence for this so-called malalignment of the spine. … If you look at the Cochrane organization based in the UK that analyzes health data worldwide, they say that the studies for chiropractic treatment in newborn infants are limited and of poor quality, but there is no evidence that they do anything,” she said, 9 News reported.