The Facts:
a. There are approximately 4400 practicing chiropractors in Australia.
b. In 2005 16% of Australians consulted a chiropractor.
c. The authors sought to determine the type of patients who consulted a chiropractor and their reasons for seeking chiropractic care.
d. They looked at the practices of 52 chiropractors in Victoria, Australia.
e. Approximately 70% of their patients were aged 25-64.
f. The top 5 conditions for which the patient’s were being treated were, in order of occurrence: back problems, neck problems, muscle problems, health maintenance and back syndrome with radiating pain.
g. The most common care provided by the chiropractors was spinal manipulation and soft tissue therapy.
h. A small number of the patients were referred by MDs.
i. “Further research is required to maximize the patient benefit that can be gained through a team approach to primary care.”
j. Although chiropractic wellness or maintenance care were commonly used terms by chiropractors in this study it was not determined what percentage of the chiropractors promote maintenance care in their practices.
k. Chiropractors generally tend to treat musculoskeletal problems.
Comments
I think that Australian practices are probably similar to practices in the US. But while most patients are treated for musculoskeletal conditions there are 4.24% that are utilizing chiropractic for health maintenance or preventive care. It would be interesting to see if that number grows over the years.
Take Home:
The average patient is an adult with a musculoskeletal problem. However, the fourth largest segment of their practices (4.24%) was for health maintenance.
Reviewer’s Comments:
I think that Australian practices are probably similar to practices in the US. But while most patients are treated for musculoskeletal conditions there are 4.24% that are utilizing chiropractic for health maintenance or preventive care. It would be interesting to see if that group was healthier after an extended period of time than the ones who only came in when they were injured.
Reviewer: Roger Coleman DC
Reference: French SD, Charity MH, Forsdike K, Gunn JM, olus DI, Walther BF, Chondros P, Britt HC. Chiropractic Observation and Analysis Study (COAST): providing an understanding of current chiropractic practice. Med J Aust. 2013;199:687-91.
Link to Abstract:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24237100