Who feels most reassured when consulting a chiropractor?

A new international study, based on data from Danish chiropractic practice and published in the European Journal of Pain, shows that patients with acute, sub-acute or chronic low back pain experience varying degrees of reassurance during a consultation – and that this is, to some extent, linked to their background and expectations.

Therefore, the researchers encourage strengthening communication and tailoring it to the individual patient, so that patients with negative expectations receive more targeted support and feel reassured.

Patients’ varying experiences

The researchers analysed data from more than 2,000 patients with acute (70 %), sub-acute (12.4 %) or chronic (17.6 %) low back pain in the ChiCo cohort, who had attended their first consultation with a chiropractor. After the visit, the patients completed a questionnaire about how much reassurance – meaning comfort and a sense of safety – they felt the practitioner had provided. Based on the collected data, the researchers identified patient characteristics associated with the degree of reassurance experienced during a chiropractic consultation for low back pain and concluded that:

• Patients with higher pain intensity in the lower back and pain lasting more than four weeks experienced slightly higher levels of reassurance than patients with pain lasting less than four weeks.
• Patients with a higher perceived risk of persistent pain, previous imaging for low back pain (in a chiropractic clinic, in a public hospital, in a private hospital, with a specialist, or abroad), male gender, and higher age experienced slightly lower levels of reassurance.

Differences as a guiding indicator

These differences may affect how healthcare professionals communicate with their patients. The results suggest that either there are some groups chiropractors are less likely to try to reassure and inform, or that some groups find it harder to feel reassured. Therefore, it is important to gain insight into the patient’s understanding and needs, so the clinician can adapt communication to the individual patient.

Anika Young, Adrian C. Traeger, Simon D. French, Alice Kongsted, Mark J. Hancock, Tue S. Jensen, Hazel J. Jenkins. Patient Characteristics Are Associated With Differences in Perceptions of Reassurance After a Consultation for Low Back Pain: Analysis of an Observational Study in Primary Care. European Journal of Pain 2025.