Background: Chronic pain management is challenging. Those with chronic pain present to health professionals, including osteopaths.
Methods: Secondary analysis of a cross-sectional survey of the Osteopathy Research Connect - New Zealand (ORC-NZ), a practice-based research network (PBRN). Demographic, practice, and treatment characteristics of osteopaths who 'often' and 'not often' treat chronic pain patients were collected.
Results: Two hundred and seventy-seven (277) NZ osteopaths responded and just over half (50.7% N = 138) reported 'often' treating chronic pain patients. This group, who have a similar male-to-female ratio, often use a diagnostic screening questionnaire (aOR 3.78), and often treat patients with non-musculoskeletal complaints (aOR 3.12) and tendinopathies (aOR 3.41).
Conclusions: This study highlights practice and clinical management characteristics of NZ osteopaths who manage chronic pain patients.
Keywords: Chronic pain; complementary therapy; manual therapy; pain assessment; pain management.
Chronic pain is when you feel pain for over 3 months, and it can be really tough to deal with. A lot of people go to see healthcare workers like osteopaths to get help.This study looked at information from a survey of osteopaths in New Zealand. We wanted to learn about the backgrounds and types of treatment given by osteopaths who often help patients with chronic pain versus those who don’t.Out of 277 osteopaths in New Zealand, just over half (139) said they treated people with chronic pain. In this group, there were about the same number of men and women. These osteopaths frequently use questionnaires to better understand their patients. They work with lots of patients whose issues are not only muscles and bones but also pain related to the tendons.In comparison to the osteopaths who don’t treat chronic pain much, these osteopaths are more likely to refer patients to other specialists who help the patient return to wellness following disease or injury, particularly massage therapists, mental health specialists, and therapists who help people live independently at home. They also receive referrals from these specialists too.This tells us osteopaths play an important role in helping people manage long-term pain, often as part of a team of health professionals, and helps us understand how osteopaths work with people who have chronic pain. It is also useful for more studies about osteopaths in New Zealand and the work they do.