A prospective study of 2,000 patients attending a chiropractic college teaching clinic.
A prospective study was undertaken to characterize 2,000 patients attending a chiropractic teaching clinic and the effectiveness of the care they received. Fifty-two percent of the patients were between 21 and 34 years old; 41% categorized their occupation as professional and 14% as skilled blue collar; 79% presented with musculoskeletal complaints; 44% had low back pain; 41% had complaints less than 1 month; 83% had no work time loss. Eighty-one percent of musculoskeletal diagnoses were reported as strain, with less than 1% intervertebral disc syndrome. The primary treatment approach was manipulation in 90% of cases. As a group, both patients and interns had similar expectations about the likelihood of improvement following treatment and similar assessments of the degree of improvement actually attained. Eighty-two percent of patients improved during their course of treatment. An average 4.4 patient visits were encountered per episode of care, with an average total charge of $66.00.
Western States Chiropractic College, Portland, Oregon 97230.
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Nyiendo
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Haldeman
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000554:Ambulatory Care Facilities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D001847:Bone Diseases / Q000628:therapy; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002684:Chiropractic / Q000193:education / Q000592:standards*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007397:Internship, Nonmedical; D008297:Male; D008349:Manipulation, Orthopedic; D008875:Middle Aged; D009135:Muscular Diseases / Q000628:therapy; D009922:Oregon; D026741:Physical Therapy Modalities; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires