Table 3 Chiropractors’ clinical management characteristics regarding the frequency of treating patients with low back-related leg pain
Characteristic | Never/rarely/ sometimes (n = 364) | Often (n = 1543) |  |
|---|---|---|---|
p | |||
Management plan (discussed often) n (%) | |||
 Diet/Nutrition | 152 (42.2%) | 810 (52.6%) | < 0.001 |
 Smoking/Drugs/Alcohol | 71 (19.7%) | 401 (26.2%) | 0.011 |
 Physical activity/Fitness | 282 (77.9%) | 1335 (87.0%) | < 0.001 |
 Occupational health and safety | 116 (32.1%) | 659 (43.2%) | < 0.001 |
 Pain counselling | 63 (17.6%) | 403 (26.6%) | < 0.001 |
 Nutritional supplements (including vitamins, minerals, herbs) | 110 (30.6%) | 597 (38.8%) | 0.004 |
 Medications (including for pain/inflammation) | 44 (12.2%) | 392 (25.8%) | < 0.001 |
Conditions (treated often) n (%) | |||
 Neck pain: Axial | 275 (75.8%) | 1509 (97.9%) | < 0.001 |
 Neck pain: Referred/Radicular | 35 (9.6%) | 1162 (75.3%) | < 0.001 |
 Thoracic pain: Axial | 226 (62.4%) | 1382 (90.0%) | < 0.001 |
 Thoracic pain: Referred/Radicular | 20 (5.6%) | 857 (56.1%) | < 0.001 |
 Low back pain: Axial | 273 (75.2%) | 1525 (99.2%) | < 0.001 |
 Lower limb musculoskeletal disorders | 135 (37.3%) | 1013 (65.7%) | < 0.001 |
 Upper limb musculoskeletal disorders | 137 (37.7%) | 1051 (68.5%) | < 0.001 |
 Postural disorders (including lordosis, thoracic kyphosis, scoliosis) | 147 (41.6%) | 992 (65.9%) | < 0.001 |
 Degenerative spine conditions (including spondylolisthesis) | 134 (38.1%) | 1070 (71.1%) | < 0.001 |
 Headache disorders | 229 (64.9%) | 1396 (92.5%) | < 0.001 |
 Migraine disorders | 77 (21.8%) | 910 (60.3%) | < 0.001 |
 Spine health maintenance/prevention | 200 (56.7%) | 1158 (76.9%) | < 0.001 |
 Non-musculoskeletal disorders | 57 (22.7%) | 354 (31.6%) | 0.005 |
Patient groups (treated often) n (%) | |||
 Older people (65 years or over) | 196 (54.4%) | 1197 (78.0%) | < 0.001 |
 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people | 4 (1.1%) | 29 (1.9%) | 0.303 |
 Pregnant women | 81 (22.5%) | 613 (40.1%) | < 0.001 |
 Athletes or sports people | 115 (32.1%) | 819 (53.7%) | < 0.001 |
 People with work-related injuries | 74 (21.3%) | 594 (39.5%) | < 0.001 |
 People with traffic-related injuries | 18 (5.1%) | 235 (15.7%) | < 0.001 |
 People receiving post-surgical rehabilitation | 11 (3.2%) | 109 (7.3%) | 0.005 |
 Non-English speaking ethnic group(s) | 9 (2.7%) | 108 (7.4%) | 0.002 |
Techniques/methods (used often) n (%) | |||
 Drop-piece techniques/Thompson or similar | 167 (46.7%) | 843 (55.6%) | 0.002 |
 Biomechanical pelvic blocking/Sacro-Occipital technique | 138 (38.3%) | 684 (45.3%) | 0.017 |
 Instrument adjusting | 170 (47.4%) | 810 (53.3%) | 0.043 |
 Chiropractic BioPhysics | 14 (4.1%) | 64 (4.4%) | 0.766 |
 High velocity, low amplitude adjustment/manipulation/mobilisation | 265 (73.8%) | 1283 (84.4%) | < 0.001 |
 Applied kinesiology | 51 (14.4%) | 246 (16.5%) | 0.343 |
 Flexion-distraction | 15 (4.2%) | 132 (8.9%) | 0.004 |
 Functional neurology | 35 (10.0%) | 209 (14.2%) | 0.040 |
 Extremity manipulation | 169 (47.1%) | 939 (61.8%) | < 0.001 |
Musculoskeletal interventions (used often) n (%) | |||
 Dry needling or acupuncture | 40 (11.2%) | 219 (14.4%) | 0.110 |
 Soft tissue therapy, trigger point therapy, massage therapy, stretching | 218 (60.4%) | 1036 (67.7%) | 0.008 |
 Electro-modalities (TENS, laser, interferential/ultrasound therapy) | 25 (6.9%) | 158 (10.4%) | 0.047 |
 Heat/Cryotherapy | 40 (11.1%) | 273 (18.0%) | 0.002 |
 Orthotics | 22 (6.1%) | 169 (11.2%) | 0.005 |
 Specific exercise therapy/rehabilitation/injury taping | 155 (43.2%) | 770 (50.8%) | 0.009 |