October 2008

Palmer DCs detained in Brazil

Chiropractic group fights back to stop PT attacks

According to a report from the Brazilian Chiropractors' Association (ABQ), the Federal Police in Brazil, acting on a complaint from physiotherapy leaders, detained visiting doctors of chiropractic and students from Palmer College's Clinics Abroad program on the grounds that they were practicing physiotherapy without a license. The incident occurred on June 26.

The ABQ, which represents some 360 doctors of chiropractic in Brazil, claimed that the raid was "part of the PT profession's aggressive campaign to have chiropractic declared a specialty of physiotherapy by law in Brazil."

This campaign is thought to be a response to the effort to pass chiropractic licensing legislation for the South American nation, which has approximately 95,000 physical therapies. Currently there is no law regulating or recognizing the practice of chiropractic.

Many PTs take short courses in chiropractic for PTs, receiving a "certificate in chiropractic" upon graduation. One such course is being given by the organization Physion, in partnership with the University of Ribeirao Preto.

The ABQ engaged lawyers to fight the activity and was granted an injunction against Physion and its chiropractic teachers on grounds of lack of qualifications and public safety.

On July 18, process servers armed with this injunction halted a Physion weekend course being conducted at a hotel in Rio Grande do Sul in the south of Brazil.

"It was Friday afternoon when the officials arrived with the injunction," stated Dr. Juliana Piva of Rio de Janeiro, ABQ president. The ABQ reported that Physion lecturers resisted at first but quickly complied with the injunction when told that violation of the legal order could result in a $10,000-a-day fine for each teacher and $5,000-a-day fine for each student.

Physion and CREFITO, a regional representative of the COFFITO, the national authority for PTs in Brazil, challenged the injunction, but their challenge was denied on July 27. An appeal has been filed.