North Vancouver chiropractor cleared to return to work in face of 3 investigations

A North Vancouver chiropractor who once offered "brain balancing" treatments will be allowed to return to practice while three investigations are completed into his work.

Dan Sullins's registration was suspended in June 2019, when the College of Chiropractors of B.C. warned the public could be at risk if he continued practising.

Sullins came under investigation because of concerns about his advertising, and the college registrar told CBC there were questions about whether Sullins was following the college's efficacy claims policy, which states that chiropractors cannot claim to treat a condition when there is a lack of "acceptable evidence" for any benefit.

On Tuesday, the college issued a public notice stating that the suspension has been lifted after Sullins agreed to a number of conditions.

Those terms include working within the scope of practise for chiropractors in B.C., bringing his marketing into line with college standards and maintaining required records.

The investigations into Sullins' work are still underway, and the college hasn't given a timeline for when they might be completed.

Sullins's website, mybrainscore.com, used to advertise that he practised something called "board certified functional neurology," a credential that is not recognized in B.C. and one that the College of Physicians and Surgeons has described as dangerous and misleading.

The website advertised a treatment called "brain balancing," which is not recognized by the chiropractors' college, and claimed that Sullins is trained in "several brain stimulating adjusting techniques."

In recent weeks, however, the entire website has been taken offline, including patient testimonials claiming Sullins helped treat everything from ADHD to erectile dysfunction.

Last summer, Sullins filed a petition in B.C. Supreme Court that challenged his suspension from practice. The petition revealed the RCMP had visited his North Vancouver clinic in connection with the college's investigations.

Sullins trained as a chiropractor in Texas and worked in the Dallas area from 2012 to 2016, when he moved to the Vancouver area for family reasons, according to an affidavit he filed in support of his petition.

Sullins has only been registered as a chiropractor in this province since January 2018.

The college has not made any findings of wrongdoing against Sullins. Now that he's been cleared to begin practising again, the college says it will be monitoring his work to make sure he's abiding by the terms of their agreement.