Postural Assessment: An Online Survey of Practicing Chiropractors in the UK

Background: This study aimed to (a) determine how frequently chiropractors are using postural assessment when treating patients with back or neck pain, (b) determine the rationale for the use of postural assessment by chiropractors, (c) examine the assessment methods employed, (d) explore which specific aspects of posture are assessed and (e) determine the types of back and neck conditions being treated. Methods: An 11-item online questionnaire was developed. A link to this survey was distributed using SurveyMonkey to the entire membership of the Royal College of Chiropractors. Results: There were 272 respondents to the survey. Of the respondents, 79% ‘almost always’ used postural assessment when treating patients with back or neck pain. Respondents reported using postural assessment to help determine whether a patient was making progress (61.8%), provide an outcome measure (57.1%) and help inform the diagnosis (89.2%) and treatment plan (81.8%); almost all respondents (98.1%) reported carrying out a postural assessment visually, with no aids. Most respondents reported assessing their patient posteriorly, anteriorly and from both left and right sides, observing 44 specific anatomical items. The conditions treated included sacroiliac pain (96.7%), stiff neck (95.6%), non-specific low-back pain (92.6%), lumbar disc herniation (91.5%), cervical arthritis (89.7%), lumbar strain (87.1%), lumbar arthritis (86.4%), thoracic pain (86.4%), neck strain (84.9%) and whiplash (79.8%). Conclusions: The findings suggest that the unaided visual assessment of posture using a large range of anatomical points is used by UK chiropractors for the purposes of aiding diagnosis and treatment of patients with back and neck pathologies.