Treatment provider preference of Australian office workers for common neurologic and musculoskeletal conditions.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to survey the choice of treatment provider by selected Australian office workers for common conditions that are managed in chiropractic practice.


METHODS
Office workers of a medium-sized legal company in Sydney, Australia, were surveyed. The participants (n = 125) were asked to complete a written questionnaire on their preferred treatment choices for common physical conditions, such as back pain, neck pain, and headache.


RESULTS
A total of 81 people returned completed questionnaires. Forty-two people (52%) reported that they would attend a general medical practitioner first for back pain. In comparison, 24% of people reported that they would attend a physiotherapist first for back pain. Eleven people (13%) reported that they would attend a chiropractor first for back pain. Fifty-one percent (51%) of employees reported that their preferred treatment first choice for neck pain was a general practitioner. Chiropractic was rated as third (30%) most common choice for the treatment of neck pain (equal with physiotherapy). The preferred first choice (63% of employees) for headache treatment was a general practitioner. The second most common choice for treatment of headache was a naturopath (50%). Eighty-one percent of employees ranked a general practitioner as their preferred treatment first choice for migraine, and 39% of employees also ranked the general practitioner as the second most common treatment choice for migraine.


CONCLUSIONS
In this sample of Australian workers, chiropractic was rated within the top 3 choices for several common neuromusculoskeletal conditions for which they may have chosen a chiropractor. Because of the small sample size and limited parameters of this study, no strong conclusions can be made until further data are collected.
Tuchin
Peter
P
Senior Lecturer, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.