A profile of the prevalence and treatment of musculoskeletal multi-site symptoms in an osteopathic teaching clinic.
Item
- Title
- A profile of the prevalence and treatment of musculoskeletal multi-site symptoms in an osteopathic teaching clinic.
- Author(s)
- McEwan, A
- Abstract
- Introduction: Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) have considerable impact on the health and well being for people and the economy; in some countries they are the leading cause of morbidity and disability. The literature has shown that the majority of MSDs occur at multiple anatomical sites and it is inappropriate to target patient care upon single-site models. Aim: To investigate the prevalence and treatment of musculoskeletal multi-site symptoms in an osteopathic teaching clinic. To compare the results with previous studies; to discuss evidence based medicine (EBM) and 'best practice' at the clinic. Approach: A retrospective study using 50 randomly selected case files; gathering data on patient demographics, location, symptomatic sites and treatment demographics. Results: Multi-site symptoms are up to five times more prevalent than single-site symptoms; there was some evidence for a significant difference in treatment approach. However, there was no significant association between the number of symptomatic anatomical sites and duration of treatment, occupation, gender or practitioner experience. Conclusion: The results of the study were consistent with the literature. At this stage it is still unclear whether osteopathic practice would be best served rigidly adhering to EBM or if a reductionist approach would detract from the principles of osteopathy, ultimately changing it. The recommendation is that further research will shed light on; student practitioner rationale for diagnosis and treatment, reviewing information gathered during the case history, practitioner confidence in teaching and treatment, and cross-sectional variation in teaching clinics.
- presented at
- European School of Osteopathy
- Date Accepted
- 2014
- Date Submitted
- 20.1.2015 16:43:40
- Type
- osteo_thesis
- Language
- English
- Submitted by:
- 62
- Pub-Identifier
- 15511
- Inst-Identifier
- 1229
- Keywords
- Comorbidity, Teaching clinic, Retrospective.
- Recommended
- 0
- Item sets
- Thesis
McEwan, A, “A profile of the prevalence and treatment of musculoskeletal multi-site symptoms in an osteopathic teaching clinic.”, Osteopathic Research Web, accessed April 22, 2025, https://library.wso.at/s/orw/item/653