Marcon et al. Archives of Physiotherapy (2019) 9:11 https://doi.org/10.1186/s40945-019-0064-5 RESEARCH ARTICLE Open Access The “subluxation” issue: an analysis of chiropractic clinic websites Alessandro R. Marcon, Blake Murdoch and Timothy Caulfield* Abstract Background: Vertebral subluxation theories are controversial in chiropractic. Divisions are evident in the chiropractic community among those who align their practices to subluxation theories and those who do not. This study investigated how many clinics offering chiropractic in the Canadian province of Alberta promote a theory of subluxation, which health ailments or improvements were linked to subluxation, and whether the subluxation discourse was used to promote chiropractic for particular demographics. Methods: Using the search engine on the Canadian Chiropractic Associations’ website, we made a list of all clinics in Alberta. We then used Google searches to obtain a URL for each clinic with a website, totalling 324 URLs for 369 clinics. We then searched on each website for “subluxation” and performed content analysis on the related content. Results: One hundred twenty-one clinics’ websites (33%) presented a theory of vertebral subluxation. The health ailments and improvements discussed in relation to subluxation were wide-ranging. An observed trend was the marketing of chiropractic for children, which was observed on 29 clinic websites (8%). Conclusions: Based on the controversy surrounding vertebral subluxation, the substantial number of clinic websites aligning their practice with vertebral subluxation should cause concern for regulatory bodies. Keywords: Chiropractic, Subluxation, Websites, Marketing, Regulation Background concept but it remains a theoretical model. It is not sup- The concept of vertebral subluxation – also called chiro- ported by any clinical research evidence that would allow practic subluxation or the vertebral subluxation complex – claims to be made that it is the cause of disease” [7]. Simi- remains controversial, even within the chiropractic com- larly, in 2015, various international bodies, including chiro- munity [1–5]. The theory of vertebral subluxation, origin- practic schools, put forward a position statement that ally posited by D.D. Palmer at the turn of the century, has declared “the teaching of vertebral subluxation complex as played a central role in the development of the practice of avitalisticconstructthatclaims that it is the cause of dis- chiropractic [1, 5]. However, a considerable amount of re- ease is unsupported by evidence. Its inclusion in a modern search and commentary – often produced by the chiroprac- chiropractic curriculum in anything other than an historical tic community – has highlighted that there is no science to context is therefore inappropriate and unnecessary” [8]. supporttheconceptofvertebral subluxation [1–4, 6]. The The Alberta College and Association of Chiropractor’s concept is scientifically implausible, and there is no evi- 2008 position statement on the “Definition of Subluxation” dence to support the idea that it is associated with any ail- makes no reference to vertebral subluxation but states that ment or the promotion of general health [1–5]. As such, in “the ACAC acknowledges and understands that the defin- some jurisdictions, chiropractic organizations have taken a ition of a chiropractic subluxation may be ‘different from stand against vertebral subluxation. In 2010, for example, the current medical definition, in which subluxation is a the General Chiropractic council in the UK stated, “The significant structural displacement, and therefore visible on chiropractic vertebral subluxation complex is an historical static imaging studies’” [9]. Indeed, divisions are evident among chiropractors over the role of subluxation and its related health problems * Correspondence: [email protected] Health Law Institute, Law Centre, University of Alberta, 91 University Campus, [1, 5, 10]. The chiropractic community differs greatly in NW, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2H5, Canada © The Author(s). 2019 Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated. Marcon et al. Archives of Physiotherapy (2019) 9:11 Page 2 of 7 how subluxations are to be defined, and there currently 4. Is “subluxation” mentioned on the website in an exists no “gold standard” in the detection of subluxation alternative manner from that already coded? [3, 11]. Furthermore, research has shown that in chiro- 5. Are any particular demographics focused on when practic education and training confusion exists among discussing subluxation? chiropractic students regarding the role subluxations play in chiropractic and whether these understandings of While coding, we observed some discourse that ap- subluxation align with or contrast with an evidence- peared to working towards creating anxiety or fear in based approach [12, 13]. (potential) clients. Due to its subjective nature, discourse Despite the emerging consensus about the lack of sci- of this sort was not formally quantified but some exam- ence to support the subluxation theory, many chiroprac- ples were captured and included in the results in order tors continue to embrace subluxation and offer services to to highlight the presence of this problematic marketing. patients based on its existence [1, 5]. The objective of this To ensure validity, in all cases where “subluxation” ap- study was to examine the use of “subluxation” on the web- peared on a website, a screen shot of the discourse was sites of Alberta health clinics offering chiropractic services. taken with the clinic’s URL appearing in the URL bar at We examined how often the unscientific concept is pro- the top of the Google Chrome browser. In cases where moted and used to market chiropractic services. We also subluxation appeared numerous times on the same page, sought to analyze the discourse surrounding vertebral sub- we took a screen shot of each use. After our analysis, a luxation, such as whether it was linked to specific medical researcher external to the project assessed all coding conditions and used in marketing chiropractic services to with respect to question #1. Any discrepancies were particular demographics, including children. rechecked by the original coder. Methods Results We used the Canadian Chiropractic Associations’ web- Theory of vertebral subluxation site [14] to obtain a list of health clinics offering chiro- Of the 369 clinics, 159 (43%) had websites containing practic in the province of Alberta. On the 4th and 5th of the word “subluxation”, and 121 clinics’ websites (33%) January 2018, we used the “Find a chiro” search engine present a theory of vertebral subluxation. That is, sub- available on the website and recorded all clinics listed luxation was described as a misalignment in the spine when searching for “Alberta”. This list totaled 493 causing interference between the brain and body, and/or clinics. We then searched for each of the 493 clinics as having an impact on the nervous system or organ using Google in order to match the clinic with a URL. In system functioning, and/or as affecting overall health or total we found a URL for 369 of the 493 clinics. These optimal health. Examples of these uses are displayed in 369 clinics had a total of 324 URLs. This was because Table 1. One additional website presented the vertebral some clinics had multiple locations, or fell under an um- subluxation theory but solely in the context of pets. brella company, which shared the same URL. The two Sixteen clinic websites (4%) mention “subluxation” in a largest of these cases included one URL for 19 different variety of manners but do not clearly posit a theory of clinics [15], and one URL for seven clinics [16]. chiropractic vertebral subluxation. We the inputted the formula: subluxation site: [clinic URL] into the Google Chrome search engine to capture Health problems or health improvements linked to all cases where “subluxation” appeared on the website. subluxation In cases where more than 10 page links appeared on a A wide range of health problems or general health im- URL, we opened only the first 10 appearing on the provements were linked to vertebral subluxation and are search results. We then asked the following questions displayed in Table 2. It was not our objective to quantify regarding the use of the “subluxation” content: the presence of each health topic. The health problems and improvements mentioned are extensive, including 1. Is a theory of subluxation described (brought up serious diseases and potential organ malfunction, a and/or discussed in a health-related context)? If so, wide-range of child specific health problems such as how is subluxation described? ADHD, bed-wetting, and colic, and a range of other is- 2. Are health problems or general health sues such as stomach and digestive problems, asthma, improvements (use as a prevention or “wellness” allergies, ear infections and blood pressure. In addition strategy, increased energy, etc.) linked to to the commonly