Editing Chiropractic (section)

== Public health ==
{{further|Vaccine controversy#Alternative medicine|Water fluoridation controversy}}
Some chiropractors oppose [[vaccination]] and [[water fluoridation]], which are common [[public health]] practices.<ref name=Murphy-pod /> Within the chiropractic community there are significant disagreements about vaccination, one of the most cost-effective public health interventions available.<ref name=WardleFrawley2016>{{cite journal|last1=Wardle|first1=Jon|last2=Frawley|first2=Jane|last3=Steel|first3=Amie|last4=Sullivan|first4=Elizabeth|title=Complementary medicine and childhood immunisation: A critical review|journal=Vaccine|volume=34|issue=38|year=2016|pages=4484–4500|doi=10.1016/j.vaccine.2016.07.026|pmid=27475472}}</ref> Most chiropractic writings on vaccination focus on its negative aspects,<ref name=Busse /> claiming that it is hazardous, ineffective, and unnecessary.<ref name=Campbell /> Some chiropractors have embraced vaccination, but a significant portion of the profession rejects it, as original chiropractic philosophy traces diseases to causes in the spine and states that vaccines interfere with healing.<ref name=Campbell /> The extent to which anti-vaccination views perpetuate the current chiropractic profession is uncertain.<ref name=Busse /> The American Chiropractic Association and the International Chiropractors Association support individual exemptions to compulsory vaccination laws, and a 1995 survey of U.S. chiropractors found that about a third believed there was no scientific proof that immunization prevents disease.<ref name=Campbell/> The Canadian Chiropractic Association supports vaccination;<ref name=Busse/> a survey in Alberta in 2002 found that 25% of chiropractors advised patients for, and 27% against, vaccinating themselves or their children.<ref name=":0">{{cite journal |vauthors=Russell ML, Injeyan HS, Verhoef MJ, Eliasziw M | title = Beliefs and behaviours: understanding chiropractors and immunization | journal = Vaccine| volume = 23 | issue = 3 | pages = 372–379 | year = 2004 | pmid = 15530683 | doi = 10.1016/j.vaccine.2004.05.027 }}</ref>

Early opposition to water fluoridation included chiropractors, some of whom continue to oppose it as being incompatible with chiropractic philosophy and an infringement of personal freedom. Other chiropractors have actively promoted fluoridation, and several chiropractic organizations have endorsed scientific principles of public health.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Jones RB, Mormann DN, Durtsche TB | title = Fluoridation referendum in La Crosse, Wisconsin: contributing factors to success | journal = American Journal of Public Health| volume = 79 | issue = 10 | pages = 1405–1408 | year = 1989 | pmid = 2782512 | pmc = 1350185 | doi = 10.2105/AJPH.79.10.1405 }}</ref> In addition to traditional chiropractic opposition to water fluoridation and vaccination, chiropractors' attempts to establish a positive reputation for their public health role are also compromised by their reputation for recommending repetitive lifelong chiropractic treatment.<ref name=Murphy-pod />