Chiropractors and the treatment of back pain.

In a survey of British chiropractors and their practices, it was found that the majority of their patients attended for back pain. The average age of patients was 47 years, the sex ratio was equal, and most had had their complaints for longer than three months and had access to the chiropractor within a few days. They were largely housewives and persons from the executive and managerial occupations. The main investigative procedures used were static and motion palpation of the spine, and vital systems, orthopaedic, neurological, and radiological examination. Treatment was mostly manual and directed at the spinal column, and the benefit obtained, as assessed by the chiropractors, was comparable to that reported in other studies. Maximum benefit was usually recorded within seven attendances, although 39% of patients made further visits for maintenance treatment. The chiropractors are seen to be a young, growing, and largely male group, and their new patient numbers are at present likely to be at least one-twentieth that of hospital out-patient departments which deal with back pain.