Nevada and California are considering professional boundaries associated with the use of manipulation, or adjusting of the spine or extremities this year, and it looks like there is a basis for further investigation.
Earlier this year, David Rovetti, D.C., president of the Chiropractic Physicians Board of Nevada requested an opinion on behalf of the office of the Attorney General of Nevada, concerning whether a licensed physical therapist may lawfully perform manipulation or adjusting of the spine, or any articulation. After a summary of the laws, and the various chapters, the answer, dated February 7, 2013, which The American Chiropractor Magazine has received a copy of summarizes, that by the interpretation of the Attorney General licensed physical therapists, in the state of Nevada may not manually adjust the articulations of the spine or other joints of the human body.
With this in the mind, the California Chiropractic Association is now sponsoring a Manipulation Protection bill this legislative session. The bill, SB 381, authored by Senator Leland Yee would prohibit a health care practitioner from performing joint manipulation or joint adjustments unless he or she is a licensed chiropractor, physician/surgeon or osteopathic physician/surgeon. Consult the California Chiropractic Association at www.calchiro.org for more information on how you may support Senator Yee in this important bill.
Professional boundaries have been an important issue over the last couple of years across the various healthcare fields. Manipulation, or chiropractic adjustments, have not been the source of aggressive action accross the various news agencies, however considering these two developments one can expect more discussion on the topic in the future.