Spinal care costs NZ $13.5 million a year

Taxpayers are forking out $13.5 million a year to send New Zealanders to chiropractors - 50 per cent more than five years ago.

But debate still rages over whether the treatment works, with some GPs advising the treatment should be reserved for the lower back, fearing increased risk of stroke or injury if the neck is manipulated.

One expert says a good massage has been proven to work better for backaches and pains.

In 2007 and 2008, ACC paid for almost 80,000 New Zealanders to visit a chiropractor, 20 per cent more than in the preceding two years.

Last year the New Zealand Medical Journal printed a lengthy right of reply by the New Zealand Chiropractors' Association in response to an article criticising their use of the title "Doctor".

The association called the article "highly insulting".

Asked to comment on the profession this week, the New Zealand Medical Association released a statement saying all complementary medicines should be subject to the same evidence-based medical testing that conventional medicine faces.

The statement added that "patients have the right to be protected from exploitation" and urged people with health problems to consult a medical practitioner.

However the trend is against them.

ACC figures show the amount paid out for chiropractic care was $13.5m last year, compared with $9m in 2004.

The average cost of a visit has also increased, from $19.30 in 2004 for 466,379 visits, to $24.62 in 2008.

Chiropractors claim they can cure many illnesses through manipulation of the spine.

Dr Simon Kelly, an Auckland chiropractor and vice president of the New Zealand Chiropractors' Association, said they were the only adequately-trained health practitioners able to provide such adjustments.

He referred to the 1979 Royal Commission of Inquiry, which concluded chiropractic adjustments in the hands of a registered practitioner were "remarkably safe", and there should be no impediment to full professional co-operation between them and medical practitioners.

Kelly said 70 per cent of New Zealanders tried non-medical heathcare last year, and the majority went to a chiropractor.

There are around 350 chiropractors practising nationwide.

According to the association's website, they treat a wide range of conditions including back and neck pain, headaches and sciatica.

The website describes how a chiropractor corrects a malfunction of the spine called a "vertebral subluxation" or an abnormal vertebral movement, irritation and interference of the nervous system.

Professor Bruce Arroll, a professor of General Practice at the Auckland Medical School and GP for 25 years, said he would only recommend chiropractors for problems affecting the lower spine.

"I think anything higher to the lumbar vertebra I think is particularly hazardous. People need to be informed that it's not entirely risk-free."