Abstract
BackgroundThe high percentage of female chiropractic students in Switzerland suggests a future sex shift in the chiropractic profession in Switzerland. Thus the purpose of this study is to determine if male and female chiropractors achieve the same treatment outcomes in neck pain patients.MethodsIncluded in this prospective outcomes study were 849 patients with neck pain of any duration. Prior to the first treatment, baseline demographic data, the Bournemouth Questionnaire (BQ) and the numerical rating scale (NRS) for neck and arm pain were completed. At the follow-up time points of 1 week, 1, 3, 6 and 12 months, the Patient’s Global Impression of Change (PGIC) scale to categorize the actual ‘improvement’ and the BQ and the NRS for neck pain were completed.The Chi-square test compared the proportion of patients reporting ‘improvement’ between male and female chiropractors for each time point. The unpaired Student’s t-test compared the BQ and the NRS actual and change scores between patients of male and female chiropractors at all time points. Demographic factors were compared between the sexes using the Chi-square test.ResultsProportionally more patients of female chiropractors reported ‘improvement’ at 1 month (p = 0.035) and significantly more pain reduction at 3 months (p = 0.040). Patients of male chiropractors presented with significant older age (p = 0.0001), higher levels of baseline neck pain (p = 0.012), a lower proportion with radiculopathy (p = 0.014) and less pain medication use (p = 0.046).ConclusionsFemale chiropractors achieve at least equally satisfying treatment results for neck pain patients compared to male chiropractors. Female chiropractors also have a higher proportion of female patients compared to male chiropractors and patients presenting with radiculopathy and using pain medications.Trial registrationNot applicable for this type of study.
Highlights
IntroductionFrom the Swiss Job Analysis Survey 2009 it is known that there is a strong male predominance in the chiropractic profession in Switzerland [1]
The high percentage of female chiropractic students in Switzerland suggests a future sex shift in the chiropractic profession in Switzerland
To date there has been no research on chiropractic treatment in neck pain patients investigating if the sex of the chiropractor is related to outcomes., This is relevant as at times there has been the misconception that at least some of the chiropractic treatments require a certain degree of strength to perform properly and that female chiropractors may find this more challenging compared to their male colleagues
Summary
From the Swiss Job Analysis Survey 2009 it is known that there is a strong male predominance in the chiropractic profession in Switzerland [1] This was said to be found in the job analysis reports published for the United Kingdom and the United States, showing that there are more men than women working as chiropractors [2,3,4]. To date there has been no research on chiropractic treatment in neck pain patients investigating if the sex of the chiropractor is related to outcomes., This is relevant as at times there has been the misconception that at least some of the chiropractic treatments require a certain degree of strength to perform properly and that female chiropractors may find this more challenging compared to their male colleagues. Some patients comment that they prefer a female chiropractor as they assume her treatment may be gentler
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