Swiss Chiropractic Cohort (Swiss ChiCo) Study: Patient Cohort
- Conditions
- Musculoskeletal Pain
- Interventions
- Other: Usual chiropractic care
- Registration Number
- NCT05116020
- Lead Sponsor
- Balgrist University Hospital
- Brief Summary
The Swiss chiropractic patient cohort (Swiss ChiCo) study is a nationwide research project which aims to describe the characteristics of patients presenting to Swiss chiropractors, assess the clinical course of patients with musculoskeletal pain, and examine the feasibility for performing a larger subsequent cohort study.
- Detailed Description
The chiropractic scope of practice within Switzerland includes the diagnosis and management of musculoskeletal (MSK) pain conditions through manual medicine, prescription medication, and diagnostic imaging (radiography, ultrasound, CT, MRI). Common patient complaints presenting to Swiss chiropractic offices mirror this scope of practice, with low back pain and pelvic related pain being the most prevalent. This combination of clinical expertise and access to a MSK pain patient population allows chiropractic health care centres to become useful "real-world" primary care settings to further understand the current management and clinical course of MSK pain conditions in Switzerland, and to identify practice gaps and opportunities for Swiss MSK primary health care quality improvement.
This study aims to describe the characteristics of patients with new conservative healthcare seeking for MSK pain presenting to Swiss chiropractors, assess the clinical course of these patients over 12 weeks, and examine the feasibility for performing a larger subsequent prospective electronic cohort study using the newly established Swiss ChiCo practice-based research network (PBRN) and clinical cohort methodological framework.
Participating chiropractors will recruit consecutive patients from community-based chiropractic practices into a 12-week observational prospective electronic cohort study. Patient participants will be asked to complete 5 electronic surveys over 12-weeks. The first survey will be provided to patient participants prior to their initial chiropractic assessment. Subsequent questionnaires will be provided 1-hour, 2-weeks, 6-weeks, and 12-weeks after the initial visit. This patient cohort study represents a collaborative effort of international researchers, Swiss chiropractic clinicians, and the chiropractic patient and clinical associations in Switzerland (Pro Chiropractic Switzerland and ChiroSuisse). The survey design and study implementation procedures have been conceptualized through stakeholder consultation.
Recruitment & Eligibility
- Status
- COMPLETED
- Sex
- All
- Target Recruitment
- 568
- ≥18 years of age
- Seeking new conservative health care for a musculoskeletal pain condition at a Swiss chiropractic clinic (ie, not having received participant-reported chiropractic care, physiotherapy, osteopathy, or massage therapy for the musculoskeletal complaint in the past 1 month and not a follow-up visit)
- Consent to chiropractic treatment
- Proficient in German, French, Italian, or English
- Active email account
- Willing to complete electronic study questionnaires
- Presenting with red-flag symptoms (i.e., saddle anesthesia, loss of bowel and/or bladder control, history of major trauma, fracture, fever, severe or rapidly progressive neurologic deficit, sudden unexpected weight loss)
- Presenting with non-musculoskeletal pain condition
Study & Design
- Study Type
- OBSERVATIONAL
- Study Design
- Not specified
- Arm && Interventions
Group Intervention Description Chiropractic patient participants Usual chiropractic care Usual chiropractic care
- Primary Outcome Measures
Name Time Method Change in musculoskeletal health status Baseline; 1-hour after initial visit; 2-, 6-, 12-weeks Assessment via musculoskeletal health questionnaire (MSK-HQ, 0-56). A higher score reflects better musculoskeletal health status
Invited patient participation proportion Baseline Proportion of invited patients who agree to participate (feasibility outcome)
Change in participant follow-up and retention Baseline; 1-hour after initial visit; 2-, 6-, 12-weeks Proportion of enrolled participants who complete follow-up surveys (feasibility outcome)
Change in musculoskeletal pain impact Baseline; 1-hour after initial visit; 2-, 6-, 12-weeks Assessment via Pain, Enjoyment, and General Activity scale (PEG scale, 0-10). A higher score reflects worse outcome (worse pain intensity and interference)
- Secondary Outcome Measures
Name Time Method Reasons for non-participation Baseline Reasons for invited participant non-participation (no email address, unfamiliar with electronic or internet tools, lack of time, lack of interest in the study, data privacy concerns, other)
Factors associated with non-response Baseline and 12-weeks A multivariable logistic regression analysis will be performed to assess the association between the participant factors (listed below) and non-response (versus response) at 12-weeks follow-up. Participant factors that will be assessed are: age (reported in years), sex (reported as male and female), medication use for MSK pain (reported as prescription medication, non-prescription medication, and no medication use), current MSK pain condition episode duration (dichotomised as acute \[\< 3 months duration\] and chronic \[≥ 3 months duration\]), MSK pain impact (PEG scale, 0-10), and MSK health status (MSK-HQ, 0-56) collected at baseline.
Trial Locations
- Locations (1)
Balgrist University Hospital
🇨🇭Zurich, Switzerland