Illegal practicing of chiropractic by Americans in socially vulnerable populations in the state of Santa Catarina: a bioethical analysis.

Abstract

This paper focuses on the accusation made by the Regional Physio- therapy Council of the 10th Region regarding professional activities illegally practiced by a group of 26 Americans from Palmer University, Florida, who had come to the state of Santa Catarina, southern Brazil, with tourist status. The attendance for needy individuals was provided in June 2008. Acting on the accusation, the Federal Police caught the group red-handed in a sports gymnasium that provided poor conditions for chiropractic attendance. This is a type of body manipulation that, if carried out inadequately, could cause irreversible damage to the nervous system and locomotor system. Through this disrespect for the country’s legislation and for the professionals that are regulated for practicing chiropractic (given that this manipulative technique is one of the specialties within physiotherapy), these individuals’ illegal practicing of chiropractic raised a series of ethical issues. From the context presented, a bioethical analysis on human laboratory practice is made, involving the premise that practice applied to socially vulnerable populations should be voluntary.