Utilisation of pain counselling in osteopathic practice: secondary analysis of a nationally representative sample of Australian osteopaths

Fitzgerald, Kylie; Vaughan, Brett; Fleischmann, Michael; Pritchard, Shane; Mulcahy, Jane; Austin, Phil

doi:10.1515/sjpain-2020-0058

Cited by 2 publications

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References 27 publications

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“…Patients may also access care through third-party payment schemes associated with worker's compensation, traffic accident, and war veteran schemes. Although the dominant therapeutic approach used by Australian osteopaths is manual therapy [ 24 ], patient education [ 25 , 26 ] and exercise are also incorporated. Orrock [ 27 ] explored osteopathic practice in Australia in 2009 and found that approximately 55% of practitioners often or always prescribe therapeutic exercise.…”

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confidence: 99%

The Use of Exercise Prescription in Australian Osteopathy Practice: Secondary Analysis of a Nationally Representative Sample of the Profession

Fleischmann,

Vaughan,

Fitzgerald

2024

The Scientific World Journal

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Introduction. Exercise is beneficial for improving general health, wellbeing, and specific medical conditions. In musculoskeletal conditions such as chronic low back and neck pain, prescribed exercise has been found to be moderately effective in decreasing pain and improving function. Osteopaths are primary contact health professionals who manage predominantly musculoskeletal complaints. This work presents a secondary data analysis of the Australian osteopathy practice‐based research network and profiles the characteristics of osteopaths who often use exercise prescription in patient care. Methodology. Secondary analysis of a cross‐sectional survey of 992 osteopaths was registered with the Osteopathy Research and Innovation Network, an Australian practice‐based research network. Demographics, practice, and treatment characteristics of Australian osteopaths who “often” use exercise prescription in patient care were examined. Results. Seven‐hundred and thirty‐three Australian osteopaths (74%) indicated that they use exercise prescription “often” in patient care. Australian osteopaths who often use exercise prescription are more likely to be colocated with another osteopath (ORa 1.54) and send referrals to an exercise physiologist (ORa 1.94) and a specialist medical practitioner (ORa 1.72). Those osteopaths who often used exercise prescription were also more likely to discuss physical activity (ORa 5.61) and nutrition (ORa 1.90). Australian osteopaths who use exercise prescription often were more likely to treat patients with sports injuries (ORa 2.43) and use soft tissue techniques (ORa 1.92), trigger point techniques (ORa 2.72), and sports taping (ORa 1.78). Conclusion. Osteopaths who utilise exercise prescription were more likely to discuss physical activity, diet, and nutrition and utilise referral networks with specialist medical practitioners and exercise physiologists. Australian osteopaths who often use exercise prescriptions were also more likely to treat patients with sport injury. The results suggest that most Australian osteopaths use exercise prescription and have referral networks with other health professionals for patient management. Further work is required to explore the type of exercise prescription used and for what conditions.

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