The descriptive profile of low back pain patients of field practicing chiropractors contrasted with those treated in the clinics of west coast chiropractic colleges.
OBJECTIVE
To compare the demographic and clinical characteristics of low back pain patients from chiropractic college clinics and private practice settings on the west coast of the United States.


METHODS
A survey analysis of consecutive new patients in a specified time frame from multiple private office settings contrasted with a previous survey of consecutive new patients in a similar time frame from chiropractic college clinics.


METHODS
In the private practice setting, new patients were selected on a consecutive basis as subjects for the study. Selection was limited to low back pain patients.


METHODS
None. This was a self-report survey only.


RESULTS
There is a strong similarity of the two low back pain patient groups, with the exception of higher levels of income, work time loss, severity and functional disability reported in the private practice setting.


RESULTS
Similarities between the two low back pain patient groups were found in the distribution of gender, age, job description and education. Statistical significances were not determined due to variations in data collection.


CONCLUSIONS
The two patient populations are reasonably comparable in sociodemographic variables, but clinical variation does exist. These results suggest the need to consider clinical findings when extrapolating research findings in a college clinic setting to the chiropractic profession in general.
Phillips
R B
RB
Los Angeles College of Chiropractic, Whittier, CA 90609.
Mootz
R D
RD
Nyiendo
J
J
Cooperstein
R
R
Konsler
J
J
Mennon
M
M
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000554:Ambulatory Care Facilities; D002684:Chiropractic / Q000379:methods*; D003710:Demography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D017116:Low Back Pain / Q000628:therapy*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011331:Private Practice; D012494:Sampling Studies; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires