A chiropractor and academic says there are “questions about the profession’s culture” after an audit found more than half of chiropractors made misleading advertising claims online.

Dr Keith Simpson (PhD) from Murdoch University in Perth led a review of the claims made by 151 websites and Facebook pages representing 359 chiropractors.

The results showed 57% of chiropractors were making misleading claims in their advertising material, in apparent breach of AHPRA’s guidelines.

A further 15% appeared to be in breach of the guidelines for reasons such as causing unnecessary fear in patients or encouraging the use of unnecessary health services.