The chiropractors ’ dilemma in caring for older patients with musculoskeletal complaints: Collaborate, integrate, coexist, or separate?

by Cecilia Bergstr öm, Iben Axén, Jonathan Field, Jan Hartvigsen, Monique van der Marck, Dave Newell, Sidney Rubinstein, Annemarie de Zoete, Margareta Persson The world’s elderly population is growing at a rapid pace. This has led to an increase in demand on the health and welfare systems due to age-related disorders, with musculoskeletal complaints driving the need for rehabilitation services. However, there are concerns about health services’ abil ity to meet this demand. While chiropractic care is gaining recognition for its benefits in treating older adults with musculoskeletal disorders, there is limited scientific literature on chiropractors’ role and experiences in this area. To bridge this gap, we interviewed 21 chiropractors in Great Britain, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden. Inductive qualitative content analysis was used to analyse the interviews, and despite differences in integration and regulation between the countries, several common facilitators and barriers in caring for and managing older patients with musculoskelet al complaints emerged. While participants expressed optimism about future collaborations with other healthcare professionals and the integration of chiropractic into national healthcare systems, they also highlighted significant concerns regarding the existing healthcare infrastructure. The particip ants also felt that chiropractors, with their non-surgical and holistic approach, were well-positioned to be the primary point of contact...
Source: PLoS One - Category: Biomedical Science Authors: Source Type: research