A future interdisciplinary collaboration with other healthcare professionals for treating musculoskeletal pain in older individuals. Integration of chiropractic care into national healthcare systems. Chiropractors as the primary point of contact for older people experiencing musculoskeletal pain. Greater utilization of chiropractors’ clinical expertise in the healthcare system.
These are the areas where chiropractors can contribute to the treatment of the increasing burden of musculoskeletal pain in older adults (aged 55+). A group of chiropractors from the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden expressed this sentiment in a study conducted by an international team of researchers in May 2024. Chiropractors are trained to address musculoskeletal pain and are well-suited for a more central role in healthcare, especially considering the rising number of older individuals experiencing such pain.
However, there are significant barriers to their increased involvement in treatment. One of these barriers is the cost of treatment. In Norway, chiropractors receive reimbursement for their services from the national health insurance, but in the other three countries, most patients pay for their treatment out of pocket. This financial burden often deters economically disadvantaged older adults from seeking treatment or continuing ongoing treatment.
Other barriers relate to the topics mentioned earlier: limited integration of chiropractors into the healthcare system and a lack of prioritization of musculoskeletal pain within healthcare. According to participating chiropractors, these challenges stem from financial constraints, staff shortages, and insufficient interdisciplinary collaboration and communication.
The chiropractors who participated in the study aim to overcome these barriers by fostering interdisciplinary collaboration and integrating chiropractors into the national healthcare systems of the four countries. This approach could improve coordinated, patient-focused treatment for musculoskeletal pain in older individuals. While chiropractors are authorized healthcare professionals in the United Kingdom, Norway, and Sweden, chiropractic care is perceived as “alternative treatment” in the Netherlands.
The study was conducted as a qualitative interview survey among chiropractors in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden by esteemed researchers from Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Denmark, including Jan Hartvigsen from the Chiropractic Knowledge Hub and the University of Southern Denmark. A total of 21 chiropractors participated.
Cecilia Bergstrøm, Iben Axén, Jonathan Field, Jan Hartvigsen, Monique van der Marck, Dave Newell, Sidney Rubinstein, Annemarie de Zoete, Margareta Persson. The chiropractors’ dilemma in caring for older patients with musculoskeletal complaints: Collaborate, integrate, coexist, or separate? PLoS ONE 2024.
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