Utilization of chiropractic services in patients with osteoarthritis and spine pain at a publicly funded healthcare facility in Canada: A retrospective study.

BACKGROUND: Osteoarthritis (OA) is one of the most prevalent and disabling musculoskeletal diseases worldwide. There is preliminary evidence from experimental studies and consensus documents that chiropractic management may alleviate spine and/or extremity OA related pain in the short term. OBJECTIVE: This research explores the potential relationship of a pragmatic course of care, including soft tissue therapy, spinal manipulation, and other treatments commonly delivered by chiropractors, to spine and extremity pain in patients with OA. METHODS: A retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data from the chiropractic program at a publicly funded healthcare facility was conducted. The primary outcome measures for patients diagnosed with spine and/or extremity OA (n= 76) were numeric pain scores of each spinal and extremity region at baseline and discharge, and a change score was determined. RESULTS: Statistically significant improvements that exceed a clinically meaningful difference in pain numeric rating scale scores were demonstrated by point change reductions from baseline to discharge visits. Change scores exceeding a minimally clinically important difference of "2-points" were present in the sacroiliac (-2.91), extremity (-2.84), cervical (-2.73), thoracic (-2.61), and lumbar (-2.59) regions. CONCLUSION: Patients diagnosed with OA in a socioeconomically disadvantaged community demonstrated reductions in mean pain scores in both a clinically meaningful and statistically significant manner concurrent with a course of chiropractic care.

Patient Characteristics and Clinical Outcomes Associated With Conservative Treatment for Spine Pain in Women Experiencing Socioeconomic Challenges.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to describe patient demographics and pain changes for women over the course of care in a chiropractic program. METHODS: We performed a retrospective cross-sectional analysis of a prospective quality assurance database from the Mount Carmel Clinic (MCC) in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Pain scores were reported on an 11-point Numeric Rating Scale. Baseline and discharge Numeric Rating Scale scores were compared for each spinal and extremity region through Wilcoxon signed rank tests to determine if clinically meaningful or statistically significant differences were present. RESULTS: The sample population attained was 348 primarily middle-aged (mean = 43.0, SD = 14.96) women with obesity (body mass index = 31.3 kg/m2, SD = 7.89) referred to the MCC chiropractic program by their primary care physician (65.2%) for an average of 15.6 (SD = 18.49) treatments. Clinically meaningful median baseline to discharge changes in pain by spine region were observed (Cervical = -2, Thoracic = -2, Lumbar = -3, Sacroiliac = -3), each of which yielded statistical significance (P < .001). CONCLUSION: This retrospective analysis found that the MCC chiropractic program serves middle-aged women with obesity experiencing socioeconomic challenges. Pain reductions were reported, regardless of the region of complaint, temporally associated with a course of chiropractic care.

Change in young people's spine pain following chiropractic care at a publicly funded healthcare facility in Canada.

BACKGROUND: The presence of spinal pain in young people has been established as a risk factor for spinal pain later in life. Recent clinical practice guidelines recommend spinal manipulation (SM), soft tissue therapy, acupuncture, and other modalities that are common treatments provided by chiropractors, as interventions for spine pain. Less is known specifically on the response to chiropractic management in young people with spinal pain. The purpose of this manuscript was to describe the impact, through pain measures, of a pragmatic course of chiropractic management in young people's spinal pain at a publicly funded healthcare facility for a low-income population. METHODS: The study utilized a retrospective analysis of prospectively collected quality assurance data attained from the Mount Carmel Clinic (MCC) chiropractic program database. Formal permission to conduct the analysis of the database was acquired from the officer of records at the MCC. The University of Manitoba's Health Research Ethics Board approved all procedures. RESULTS: Young people (defined as 10-24 years of age) demonstrated statistically and clinically significant improvement on the numeric rating scale (NRS) in all four spinal regions following chiropractic management. CONCLUSION: The findings of the present study provide evidence that a pragmatic course of chiropractic care, including SM, mobilization, soft tissue therapy, acupuncture, and other modalities within the chiropractic scope of practice are a viable conservative pain management treatment option for young people.

Initial integration of chiropractic services into a provincially funded inner city community health centre: a program description.

BACKGROUND: The burden of fees for chiropractic services rendered often falls on the patient and must be provided out-of-pocket regardless of their socioeconomic status and clinical need. Universal healthcare coverage reduces the financial barrier to healthcare utilization, thereby increasing the opportunity for the financially disadvantaged to have access to care. In 2011 the Canadian Province of Manitoba initiated a pilot program providing access to chiropractic care within the Mount Carmel Clinic (MCC), a non-secular, non-profit, inner city community health centre. OBJECTIVE: To describe the initial integration of chiropractic services into a publically funded healthcare facility including patient demographics, referral patterns, treatment practices and clinical outcomes. METHOD: A retrospective database review of chiropractic consultations in 2011 (N=177) was performed. RESULTS: The typical patient referred for chiropractic care was a non-working (86%), 47.3(SD=16.8) year old, who self-identified as Caucasian (52.2%), or Aboriginal (35.8%) and female (68.3%) with a body mass index considered obese at 30.4(SD=7.0). New patient consultations were primarily referrals from other health providers internal to the MCC (71.2%), frequently primary care physicians (76%). Baseline to discharge comparisons of numeric rating scale scores for the cervical, thoracic, lumbar, sacroiliac and extremity regions all exceeded the minimally clinically important difference for reduction in musculoskeletal pain. Improvements occurred over an average of 12.7 (SD=14.3) treatments, and pain reductions were also statistically significant at p<0.05. CONCLUSION: Chiropractic services are being utilized by patients, and referring providers. Clinical outcomes indicate that services rendered decrease musculoskeletal pain in an inner city population.

CONTEXTE: Les frais de chiropratique sont souvent imputés aux patients et doivent être déboursés de la poche de ces derniers, et ce, quels que soient leur situation socioéconomique et leurs besoins cliniques. La couverture maladie universelle réduit les obstacles financiers au recours aux soins de santé, augmentant ainsi les possibilités pour les personnes défavorisées sur le plan financier d'avoir accès aux soins. En 2011, la province canadienne du Manitoba a lancé un programme pilote offrant l'accès à la chiropratique au sein de la Mount Carmel Clinic (MCC), un centre de santé communautaire confessionnel du centre-ville sans but lucratif. OBJECTIF: Décrire l'intégration initiale de la chiropratique dans un établissement de soins de santé financé par l'État en fournissant des données démographiques, des tendances d'acheminement, des pratiques de traitement et des résultats cliniques relatifs aux patients. MÉTHODE: Un examen rétrospectif de la base de données des consultations en chiropratique en 2011 (N = 177) a été réalisé. RÉSULTATS: Le patient type aiguillé vers des soins en chiropratique était une personne de 47,3 ans (écart-type = 16,8) inactive (86 %), qui se considérait comme étant Caucasienne (52,2 %) ou Aborigène (35,8 %), et de sexe féminin (68,3 %) possédant un indice de masse corporelle de 30,4 (écart-type = 7,0) associé à l'obésité. Les consultations de nouveaux patients consistaient principalement en des aiguillages d'autres intervenants en matière de santé du MCC (71,2 %), souvent des médecins de premier recours (76 %). Les données de référence pour élargir les comparaisons des résultats obtenus sur l'échelle d'évaluation numérique pour les régions cervicale, thoracique, lombaire, sacro-iliaque et des extrémités des membres étaient toutes supérieures à la différence minimale cliniquement importante relative à la réduction de la douleur musculo-squelettique. Les améliorations sont apparues après une moyenne de 12,7 traitements (écart-type = 14,3). De plus, les réductions de la douleur étaient également importantes sur le plan statistique au niveau de p < 0,05. CONCLUSION: Les patients et les intervenants en matière de santé aiguillant les patients ont recours à la chiropratique. Les résultats cliniques indiquent que les soins dispensés ont pour effet de réduire la douleur musculo-squelettique chez une population du centre-ville.