Table 3.
Clinical management characteristics of Australian and new Zealand osteopaths who report often versus not often treating non-musculoskeletal complaints
| Often | Not often | p-value | OR [95%CI] | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Discuss with patients (‘often’) | |||||
| Diet/nutrition | 105 (61.7%) | 376 (34.6%) | < 0.01 | 3.05 [2.18–4.26] | |
| Smoking/alcohol/drugs | 48 (28.2%) | 163 (15.0%) | < 0.01 | 2.23 [1.54–3.24] | |
| Physical activity | 145 (85.3%) | 966 (88.9%) | 0.22 | 0.72 [0.46–1.15] | |
| Occupation health & safety | 79 (46.4%) | 535 (49.3%) | 0.54 | 0.89 [0.64–1.23] | |
| Pain counselling | 37 (21.7%) | 282 (25.9%) | 0.28 | 0.79 [0.52–1.18] | |
| Stress | 115 (67.7%) | 516 (4.6%) | < 0.01 | 2.31 [1.63–3.25] | |
| Nutritional supplements | 76 (44.7%) | 243 (22.3%) | < 0.01 | 2.81 [2.01–3.92] | |
| Medication | 68 (40.0%) | 419 (38.5%) | 0.79 | 1.06 [0.76–1.48] | |
| Patient subgroups (treat ‘often’) | |||||
| Up to 3 years of age | 87 (51.5%) | 143 (13.2%) | < 0.01 | 6.98 [4.92–9.90] | |
| 4 to 18 years of age | 100 (58.8%) | 260 (23.9%) | < 0.01 | 4.54 [3.24–6.35] | |
| Older adults | 116 (68.2%) | 637 (58.6%) | 0.02 | 1.51 [1.07–2.14] | |
| Pregnancy | 96 (56.5%) | 326 (30.0%) | < 0.01 | 3.02 [2.17–4.21] | |
| Non-English speaking | 13 (7.7%) | 33 (3.0%) | < 0.01 | 2.66 [1.37–5.16] | |
| Sport-related injuries | 87 (51.5%) | 548 (50.5%) | 0.87 | 1.04 [0.75–1.44] | |
| Post-surgery | 51 (30.0%) | 66 (6.1%) | < 0.01 | 6.61 [4.38–9.98] | |
| Indigenous populations | 10 (5.8%) | 38 (3.5%) | 0.20 | 1.72 [0.84–3.52] | |
| Conditions treated (‘often’) | |||||
| Neck pain | 164 (96.4%) | 1068 (98.2%) | 0.21 | 0.48 [0.19–1.23] | |
| Thoracic pain | 153 (90.0%) | 992 (91.3%) | 0.70 | 0.86 [0.50–1.48] | |
| Back pain | 166 (97.6%) | 1070 (98.5%) | 0.60 | 0.62 [0.20–1.88] | |
| Hip pain | 138 (81.7%) | 782 (71.9%) | 0.01 | 1.74 [1.15–2.62) | |
| Knee pain | 125 (73.5%) | 495 (45.6%) | < 0.01 | 3.31 [2.31–4.75] | |
| Ankle pain | 109 (64.2%) | 323 (29.7%) | < 0.01 | 4.22 [3.00-5.93] | |
| Foot pain | 102 (60.0%) | 266 (24.5%) | < 0.01 | 4.63 [3.31–6.48] | |
| Shoulder pain | 147 (86.5%) | 868 (79.92%) | 0.05 | 1.60 [1.01–2.55] | |
| Elbow pain | 81 (47.9%) | 231 (21.3%) | < 0.01 | 3.40 [2.43–4.75] | |
| Wrist pain | 74 (43.5%) | 162 (14.9%) | < 0.01 | 4.40 [3.11–6.21] | |
| Hand pain | 54 (31.9%) | 100 (9.2%) | < 0.01 | 4.61 [3.14–6.77] | |
| Postural disorders | 120 (70.6%) | 692 (63.7%) | 0.10 | 1.37 [0.96–1.94] | |
| Degenerative spine disorders | 111 (65.3%) | 610 (56.2%) | 0.03 | 1.46 [1.05–2.06] | |
| Headache | 159 (93.5%) | 960 (88.3%) | 0.06 | 1.91 [1.01–3.62] | |
| Migraine disorders | 110 (64.7%) | 394 (36.3%) | < 0.01 | 3.21 [2.29–4.51] | |
| Spine health maintenance or prevention | 111 (65.3%) | 610 (56.2%) | 0.03 | 1.47 [1.05–2.06] | |
| Chronic or persistent pain | 135 (79.4%) | 628 (57.8%) | < 0.01 | 2.81 [1.90–4.16] | |
| Tendinopathies | 83 (49.1%) | 404 (37.2%) | < 0.01 | 1.63 [1.18–2.26] | |
| Temporomandibular joint | 76 (45.0%) | 142 (13.2%) | < 0.01 | 5.43 [3.82–7.71] | |
| Manual therapy (use ‘often’) | |||||
| Counterstrain | 70 (41.2%) | 415 (38.3%) | 0.52 | 1.13 [0.81–1.57] | |
| Muscle energy technique | 98 (57.7%) | 846 (77.9%) | < 0.01 | 0.39 [0.27–0.54] | |
| High-velocity, low-amplitude manipulation | 71 (41.8%) | 720 (66.3%) | < 0.01 | 0.36 [0.26–0.51] | |
| Peripheral joint manipulation | 75 (44.2%) | 462 (42.6%) | 0.77 | 1.06 [0.76–1.47] | |
| Soft tissue technique | 116 (68.2%) | 961 (88.5%) | < 0.01 | 0.28 [0.19–0.40] | |
| Myofascial release | 112 (65.8%) | 657 (60.5%) | 0.21 | 1.26 [0.89–1.76] | |
| Visceral techniques | 71 (41.7%) | 92 (8.5%) | < 0.01 | 7.75 [5.34–11.24] | |
| Lymphatic pump | 43 (25.3%) | 67 (6.2%) | < 0.01 | 5.15 [3.37–7.88] | |
| Autonomic balancing | 84 (49.7%) | 127 (11.7%) | < 0.01 | 7.46 [5.23–10.63] | |
| Biodynamics | 70 (41.2%) | 13 (12.2%) | < 0.01 | 5.02 [3.52–7.15] | |
| Functional technique | 91 (53.5%) | 298 (27.4%) | < 0.01 | 3.04 [2.19–4.23] | |
| Balanced ligamentous tension | 110 (64.7%) | 366 (33.7%) | < 0.01 | 3.61 [2.57–5.06] | |
| Chapman’s reflexes | 9 (5.3%) | 26 (2.4%) | 0.06 | 2.28 [1.05–4.95] | |
| Trigger point therapy | 40 (23.6%) | 295 (27.2%) | 0.36 | 0.82 [0.56–1.20] | |
| Osteopathy in the cranial field | 115 (67.5%) | 253 (23.3%) | < 0.01 | 6.88 [4.84–9.77] | |
| Facilitated positional release | 59 (34.9%) | 174 (16.1%) | < 0.01 | 2.81 [1.97-4.00] | |
| Dry needling | 19 (11.2%) | 226 (20.8%) | < 0.01 | 0.48 [0.29–0.79] | |
| Exercise prescription | 120 (70.6%) | 824 (75.9%) | 0.16 | 0.76 [0.53–1.09] | |
| Shockwave therapy | 3 (1.7%) | 17 (1.6%) | 1.00 | 1.13 [0.33–3.89] | |
| Ultrasound | 1 (0.6%) | 26 (2.4%) | 0.22 | 0.24 [0.03–1.78] | |
| TENS | 3 (1.7%) | 23 (2.1%) | 0.99 | 0.83 [0.25–2.79] | |
| Instrument-assisted soft-tissue | 3 (1.7%) | 11 (1.0%) | 0.63 | 1.75 [0.48–6.35] | |
| Sport taping | 18 (10.6%) | 131 (12.1%) | 0.67 | 0.86 [0.51–1.45] | |
Values in bold are statistically signifcant