Original Article
A Description of Children and Adolescents in Danish Chiropractic Practice: Results from a Nationwide Survey

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmpt.2009.08.024Get rights and content

Abstract

Objective

The purpose of this study was to describe Danish chiropractic patients younger than 18 years.

Methods

Questionnaires were mailed to all chiropractic clinics in Denmark during a randomly assigned month between September 2007 and September 2008. All patients younger than 18 years or their parents were asked to complete a questionnaire collecting information on age, presenting complaint, duration and consequences of this complaint, referral mode, and use of pain medication.

Results

Babies were the most common pediatric patients with about one third being between 0 and 4 months of age. Infantile colic was the most common presenting complaint in this age group. For the older children, musculoskeletal problems were the most dominant complaint, ranging from 33% among the preschool children to 75% among the teenagers. These complaints were often chronic and about a third of the children older than 2 years had experienced symptoms for more than 1 year before seeing the chiropractor. These health complaints were reported to restrict activity as well as alter mood, and 39% of the 2- to 17-year olds used analgesics. There was limited referral of patients from other health care professionals.

Conclusions

Babies made up most of the Danish chiropractic patients younger than 18 years. Among the older children and the adolescents, musculoskeletal complaints were most common and mostly of a chronic nature. The large number of pediatric patients in chiropractic practices and the paucity of evidence of treatment effectiveness indicate the need for further research in these age groups.

Section snippets

Data Collection

Data collection took place from September 2007 to September 2008, and all chiropractic clinics in Denmark were invited to participate. The clinics were randomly assigned 1 month in which questionnaire data were to be collected for all new patients younger than 18 years. A new patient was defined as a patient who had not consulted a chiropractor within the last year. The month of July was omitted due to the summer holidays, thus data were collected at diverse clinics during 11 months of the

Results

Questionnaires were mailed to a total of 230 clinics of which 193 agreed to participate and returned questionnaires, resulting in a participation rate of 84%. Of the participating clinics, 51 (26%) did not see any pediatric patients during their month of data collection. The data presented therefore represents patients from the 142 clinics in Denmark who treated pediatric patients during their assigned month.

In total, completed questionnaires were returned for 725 pediatric patients. This would

Discussion

A large proportion of the pediatric patients in Denmark were younger than 1 year. As expected, the presenting symptoms among the babies were rather diverse, whereas the prevailing symptoms among the older children (older than 2 years) were more similar to those of adult chiropractic patients, namely, musculoskeletal complaints and headaches. Many of the children had been suffering from their primary complaint for more than 1 year, including those with musculoskeletal complaints. About 1 quarter

Conclusion

This survey shows that the 2 largest groups of pediatric chiropractic patients in Denmark are babies with a large variety of symptoms and older children with musculoskeletal complaints. The complaints are often chronic and may have an impact on the children's lives. The survey also showed limited referral from other health care professionals. Research should focus more on chiropractic treatment of infants and babies and the treatment of musculoskeletal problems in children and adolescents.

Funding Sources and Potential Conflicts of Interest

The survey was funded by the Danish Foundation for Chiropractic Research and Postgraduate Education. No conflicts of interest were reported for this study.

Practical Applications

  • The biggest group of pediatric patients in Danish chiropractic practices were babies.

  • The most common complaints in children older than 2 years related to the musculoskeletal system.

  • For the children older than 2 years, about one third of the complaints had lasted for more than 1 year

  • The reported complaints led to

Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge the help of Jytte Johannesen at The Nordic Institute of Chiropractic and Clinical Biomechanics with layout, printing, and mailing of questionnaires and keeping track of all incoming questionnaires. The effort from the participating patients, chiropractors, and chiropractic assistants is also much appreciated. The survey was funded by the Danish Foundation for Chiropractic Research and Postgraduate Education.

References (18)

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