Chiropractic Observation and Analysis Study (COAST): providing an understanding of current chiropractic practice

French, Simon; Charity, Melanie; Forsdike, Kirsty; Gunn, Jane; Polus, Barbara; Walker, Bruce F.; Chondros, Patty; Britt, Helena

doi:10.5694/mja12.11851

Cited by 59 publications

(86 citation statements)

References 14 publications

(15 reference statements)

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“…COAST (Chiropractic Observational and Analysis STudy) aimed to report information about the Australian chiropractic profession [11]. A previous COAST paper reported the demographic details of participating chiropractors, the reasons people consulted chiropractors, and the treatment chiropractors provided.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Who consults chiropractors in Victoria, Australia?: Reasons for attending, general health and lifestyle habits of chiropractic patients

et al. 2016

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BackgroundCOAST (Chiropractic Observational and Analysis STudy) reported the clinical practices of chiropractors. The aims of this study were to: 1) describe the chiropractic patient demographic and health characteristics; 2) describe patient-stated reasons for visiting a chiropractor; 3) describe chiropractic patient lifestyle characteristics; 4) compare, where possible, chiropractic patient characteristics to the general Australian population.MethodsFifty-two chiropractors in Victoria, Australia, provided information for up to 100 consecutive encounters. If patients attended more than once during the 100 encounters, only data from their first encounter were included in this study. Where possible patient characteristics were compared with the general Australian population.ResultsData were collected from December 2010 to September 2012. Data were provided for 4464 encounters, representing 3287 unique individuals. The majority of chiropractic encounters were for musculoskeletal conditions or for wellness/maintenance. The majority of patient comorbidities were musculoskeletal, circulatory or endocrine/metabolic in nature. Eight hundred chiropractic patients (57 %, 95 % CI: 53–61) described their self-reported health as excellent or very good and 138 patients (10 %, 95 % CI: 8–12) as fair or poor. Seventy-one percent of adult male patients (18 years and older), and 53 % of adult female patients, were overweight or obese. Fourteen percent (n = 188, 95 % CI: 12–16) were current smokers and 27 % (n = 359, 95 % CI: 24–31) did not meet Australian alcohol consumption guidelines. Less than half of the chiropractic patients participated in vigorous exercise at least twice per week. Approximately 20 % ate one serving of vegetables or less each day, and approximately 50 % ate one serve of fruit or less each day. Compared to the general Australian population, chiropractic patients were less likely to smoke, less likely to be obese and more likely to describe their health in positive terms. However, many patients were less likely to meet alcohol consumption guidelines, drinking more than is recommended.ConclusionsIn general, chiropractic patients had more positive health and lifestyle characteristics than the Australian population. However, there were a significant proportion of chiropractic patients who did not meet guideline recommendations about lifestyle habits and there is an opportunity for chiropractors to reinforce public health messages with their patients.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Who consults chiropractors in Victoria, Australia?: Reasons for attending, general health and lifestyle habits of chiropractic patients

et al. 2016

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“…During 2005, in Victoria Australia, over 3 million people sought care at least once from a chiropractor [2]. While a recent study has documented the type of conditions chiropractors encounter, there has been little research exploring therapists’ attitudes and beliefs which may improve patient outcomes and thus reduce levels of associated disability [3]. …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Attitudes and beliefs of Australian chiropractors’ about managing back pain: a cross-sectional study

Innes

Werth²,

Tuchin

2015

Chiropr Man Therap

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BackgroundChiropractors are frequent providers of care for patients with lower back pain. Biopsychosocial approaches to managing patients are regarded as best practice and are gaining wider acceptance. Recent evidence suggests that practitioners’ attitudes and beliefs may also have an important effect on patients’ recovery from back pain. Past studies have pooled manual therapists from differing professions. Dissonant findings have been hypothesised as being a result of the chiropractic subpopulation within multi-practitioner participant pools who are hypothesised to focus on biomedical aspects of treatment and minimize biopsychosocial dimensions.The aim of this study is to determine whether a study population of only chiropractors would demonstrate similar attitudes and beliefs to other manual therapists’ biopsychosocial or biomedical approach to the management of their patients.MethodsA survey of chiropractors in Victoria Australia in September 2010 was undertaken utilising the Pain Attitude and Belief Scale (PABS.PT), a tool which has been developed to determine the orientation (biopsychosocial or biomedical approach) of practitioners to the management of people with low back pain. The survey also obtained demographic data from respondents to determine whether variables such as education, gender or practice related factors influenced their orientation.ResultsThe overall response rate was 29% (n = 218). The majority of the sample was male (68%), with a mean age of 44 years. The 6 point Likert scale scores were 34.5 (6.3) for the biomedical factor scale and 31.4 (4.1) for the biopsychosocial scale. Internal consistency of the psychosocial subscale was poor. None of the demographic variables were found to influence the biomedical or psychosocial scales.ConclusionsChiropractors in the state of Victoria were found to have similar biomedical and psychosocial orientations in their attitudes and beliefs when compared to other manual therapists’ levels of previous studies from differing cultural and educational backgrounds. This study was unable to replicate any of the relationships from past studies with any of the demographic variables. The psychosocial scale internal consistency may be a significant factor in this non-finding. Future research should address the identification of more robust items of the biopsychosocial attitudes of Victorian chiropractors toward treating lower back pain.

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“…1,2 Despite a wide range of therapeutic modalities being offered by chiropractors, spinal manipulation (SM) is perceived to be the foundation of the chiropractic technique and is the most commonly used therapy by these health professionals. 3,4 SM is defined as a specific form of joint manipulation using either long-or shortleverage techniques targeting specific anatomic contacts or structures, and it is characterized by a low-amplitude dynamic thrust of controlled velocity, amplitude, and direction. 5 Traditionally, SM skills are acquired mainly through a combination of observation of qualified instructors and formal practice with peers.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of practice variability on spinal manipulation learning*

Marchand¹,

Mendoza²,

Dugas³

et al. 2017

Journal of Chiropractic Education

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Objective: To evaluate the effects of practice variability on chiropractic students' capacity to deliver spinal manipulations (SMs) of a targeted peak force. Methods: Forty students participated in an experimental session including either a variable or a constant practice protocol of 45 SMs. SMs were delivered on a computer-connected device that recorded force-time profiles. Ten SMs with a target peak force of 350-N were performed before practice, immediately following practice, and 2 days later. Mixed-design analyses of variance were used to assess the effect of practice type on SM biomechanical parameters and on the constant, the absolute error (AE), and the variable error (VE Conclusion: This experimental study showed that 1 session of SM practice including feedback leads to an increase in SM peak force accuracy and consistency, whether or not the practice period included variable practice. The current results confirmed that short practice periods with feedback should be included in the chiropractic curriculum.

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Chiropractic Observation and Analysis Study (COAST): providing an understanding of current chiropractic practice

Abstract: A range of conditions are managed by chiropractors in Victoria, Australia, but most commonly these conditions are musculoskeletal-related. These results can be used by stakeholders of the chiropractic profession in workforce development, education and health care policy.

Cited by 59 publications

References 14 publications

Who consults chiropractors in Victoria, Australia?: Reasons for attending, general health and lifestyle habits of chiropractic patients

Who consults chiropractors in Victoria, Australia?: Reasons for attending, general health and lifestyle habits of chiropractic patients

Attitudes and beliefs of Australian chiropractors’ about managing back pain: a cross-sectional study

Effects of practice variability on spinal manipulation learning*

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