CCP guidelines under attack in Alberta

Subluxation-based doctors throughout the province of Alberta, Canada, are banding together to defeat a resolution that would make it more difficult for them to use the guidelines developed by the Council on Chiropractic Practice (CCP).

The CCP guidelines document, "Vertebral Subluxation in Chiropractic Practice," has won widespread support throughout Canada. It was recognized by practitioners as an alternative to the medically biased Glen Erin guidelines, the Canadian counterpart to the widely rejected Mercy guidelines.

Last year, the CCP guidelines were distributed to all licensed D.C.s in Alberta and the College of Chiropractors of Alberta (CCOA) recognized the document.

"In the past, many subluxation-based chiropractors have had nothing of any substance to quote to support their way of practise," Elizabeth Anderson-Peacock, D.C. noted. "That has changed with the CCP guidelines. They are reasonable; represent various techniques; emphasize quality care with periodic re-assessments, subjective and objective measurements; and respect the individual doctor's professional judgment rather than prescribe cookie cutter care."

However, anti-subluxation forces in Canada quickly mounted an attack against the CCP document and have made numerous attempts to discredit it.

Murray Schneider, D.C., and David Tripp, D.C., members of the Canadian Chiropractic Association of Canada, have submitted a resolution calling for the CCOA to "rescind its endorsement" of the CCP guidelines. The resolution will be voted on at the annual general meeting of the CCOA, at which all licensed doctors in the province can vote.

Among the opponents of the CCP document is David Chapman-Smith, an attorney who served as Commission Counsel for both the Mercy and Glen Erin conferences. He is also the leader of the World Federation of Chiropractic, a non-regulatory organization which has come under fire recently for attempts to seize control of chiropractic standards worldwide.

Chapman-Smith is the legal advisor to the Ontario Chiropractic Association which has met with elected officials in Canada to express "concerns" about the CCP document. He is also noted for his criticism of subluxation-based chiropractic and his advocacy of moving chiropractic into the medical arena.

In his paper titled, "Chiropractic in the 21st Century," Chapman-Smith noted, "They (chiropractors) must acknowledge that adjustment is manipulation, albeit precise and skilled, and that they do not anything unique -- they just do an interesting blend of things better."

Christopher Kent, D.C., FCCI, was shocked by the attacks from the anti-subluxation contingent in Canada. Kent is president of the CCP, was honored as "Chiropractic Researcher of the Year" by the World Chiropractic Alliance in 1994, and by the International Chiropractors Association in 1991 and 1998.

He responded in detail to each of the allegations noted in the resolution and defended the CCP guidelines as scientifically sound and carefully documented (click here for Dr. Kent's complete rebuttal).

Dr. Anderson-Peacock was equally appalled by the attack, emphasizing that the document never imposed any practice regulations on D.C.s and merely provided an alternative to the Glen Erin doctor for subluxation-based practitioners.

"The CCOA recognizes the CCP document as it might recognize other chiropractic documents," she explained. "CCOA recognition does not mean it has to exclude everything else. CCP guidelines are a standard for subluxation-based chiropractic and obviously not for musculoskeletal low back pain practitioners."

Upon learning of the situation, the WCA mailed each doctor in Alberta a special "action alert" report, describing the issue in detail and urging them to cast their votes against the anti-CCP resolution on March 25.