For decades, the Kansas Medical Practice Act was assumed to give MD's complete authority for any procedure they chose to perform. While reviewing their statute, I accidentally discovered that there appeared to be no authority for medical doctors to perform any procedure other than 'drugs and surgery'. I also realized that if I was interpreting the law correctly, manipulation would more importantly be outside the scope of physical therapists. During the last 10 years, every time I testified before the Kansas Legislature on this subject, the physical therapists would counter with testimony that manipulation has always been a part of physical therapy. The Kansas Attorney General has now settled the issue.
Manipulation is outside the scope of practice of both medical doctors and physical therapists.
General Stovall's opinion will now protect the public from manipulation being performed by untrained persons. The great thing about this opinion is that it defines chiropractic manipulation according to the Kirkaldy-Willis definition of moving a joint suddenly beyond its passive limit. That makes what we do outside the scope of medical doctors. It's also nice that this prohibition will be prominently printed in the Kansas Statutes Book immediately following the Medical Practice Act. The key element is the term 'manipulation'.