RESEARCH
Back Pain in Older Adults The World Health Organisation has identified low
determine predictors of disability in this population.
surveys over the course of 12 months, answering
back pain as the major disabling condition in older
Ultimately, information collected through
questions related to healthcare use and their pain
persons. Low back pain limits their physical ability
BACE:C-A will assist chiropractic representation
experience.
and decreases social well-being. Of those older
when engaging with healthcare policymakers and
adults who experience back pain, 1 in 5 report
will place chiropractors as important stakeholders
“As a researcher, the clinics of chiropractors are the
difficulties in caring for themselves at home or
in the primary care of spinal health for older adults.
participating in family and social activities.1-4
The study was awarded a competitive research
In Australia, the prevalence of low back pain
grant by the Australian Chiropractors Association
in older adults is 24 - 27%,5 therefore, in our
in January 2019.
ageing population a substantial number of older
We need you!!
Australians regularly experience low back pain. Low back pain in older adults is more severe than in younger adults.6 For example, people aged >80 years are three times more likely to have high intensity low back pain than those aged 50-59 years.(7)
Having recently been granted ethics approval from
in BACE:C—A. Chiropractors and their staff will be trained to recruit older chiropractic patients
patients are older Australians.8 Therefore in terms
will not be asked to provide an intervention to their
of improving patient-centred care, research that
patients. After completing the baseline survey,
is focused on establishing evidence on whether
participants will complete a further six studies
chiropractic is safe for older Australians and in
over 12 months, regardless of whether they have
understanding the risk factors of disability in this
chiropractic treatment or not.
population is extremely important.
Interested chiropractors are invited to contact
BACE:C-A
the BACE:C-A team to express their interest in
Luca from Macquarie University. The team join a European BACE:C research group, led by Dr Sidney Rubenstein who developed the chiropractic protocol from the international consortium on BAck Complaints in Elders in a primary care setting.9
practice-based research arise. These are very exciting times, and I am looking forward to working with Australian chiropractors to collect valuable
How to be a part of BACE:C-A
and recruit chiropractors interested in participating
purely observational, participating chiropractors
led by post-doctoral research fellow, Dr Katie de
will engage with researchers as opportunities for
team are now ready to engage with the profession
regularly see older adults7 and 12% of chiropractic
collaborative, prospective, longitudinal study being
its kind in Australia, and I hope that chiropractors
patient data.”
with low back pain to the study. As this study is
– Australia (BACE:C-A) study is an internationally
on chiropractic patients. This is the first study of
Macquarie University, the BACE:C-A research
In a recent study, 74% of chiropractors reported
The Back Complaints in the Elderly: Chiropractic
greatest opportunity that we have to collect data
If you wish to be a part of the BACE:C-A study, please email Katie or Lucy (Research Assistant) at bace.c@mq.edu.au or for more information visit our website at mq.edu.au/about/bacechiropractic
participating. The study is particularly interested in hearing from chiropractors who feel they have a high number of older patients, particularly older people who are new patients.
What do patients have to do? We are looking to recruit 1,000 older adults (aged 55 years and over) who present with a NEW episode of low back pain. Eligible older patients will be provided with an information sheet and
The study will follow adults over the age of 55 who
consent form by clinic administration staff (where
see a chiropractor for a NEW episode of back pain
possible) and then asked to complete an online
for 12 months. It will collect vital information on the
survey. Study participants will then be contacted
safety and satisfaction of chiropractic care for the
via phone by the BACE:C-A team to confirm the
treatment of low back pain in older people and
details of the study. Participants will be sent six
REFERENCES: 1. Hartvigsen J, Frederiksen H and Christensen K. Back and neck pain in seniors-prevalence and impact. European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society 2006; 15: 802-806. 2. Leveille SG, Guralnik JM, Hochberg M, et al. Low back pain and disability in older women: independent association with difficulty but not inability to perform daily activities. The journals of gerontology Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences 1999; 54: M487-493. 1999/11/24. 3. Weiner DK, Haggerty CL, Kritchevsky SB, et al. How does low back pain impact physical function in independent, well-functioning older adults? Evidence from the Health ABC Cohort and implications for the future. Pain medicine (Malden, Mass) 2003; 4: 311-320. 2004/01/31. 4. de Luca K, Parkinson L, Haldeman S, et al. The relationship between spinal pain and comorbidity: a cross-sectional analysis of 579 communitydwelling, older, Australian women. Journal of manipulative and physiological therapeutics 2017; 40: 459-466. 5. Walker BF, Muller R and Grant WD. Low back pain in Australian adults: prevalence and associated disability. Journal of manipulative and physiological therapeutics 2004; 27: 238-244. 2004/05/19. DOI: 10.1016/j.jmpt.2004.02.002. 6. Stewart Williams J, Ng N and Peltzer K. Risk Factors and Disability Associated with Low Back Pain in Older Adults in Low- and Middle Income Countries. Results from the WHO Study on Global AGEing and Adult Health (SAGE). . PloS One 2015; 10. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0127880. 7. Moore C, de Luca K, Wong A, et al. Characteristics of chiropractors who manage people aged 65 and older: A nationally representative sample of 1903 chiropractors. Australasian Journal of Ageing 2018; In Press. 8. Charity MJ, Britt HC, Walker BF, et al. Who consults chiropractors in Victoria, Australia?: Reasons for attending, general health and lifestyle habits of chiropractic patients. Chiropractic & manual therapies 2016; 24: 28. 9. Scheele J, Luijsterburg PA, Ferreira ML, et al. Back Complaints in the Elders (BACE); design of cohort studies in primary care: an international consortium. BMC musculoskeletal disorders 2011; 12: 193. DOI: 10.1186/1471-2474-12-193.
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CA NEWS SEPTEMBER 2019
