Chiropractic Care in a Multidisciplinary Sports Health Care Environment: A Survey of Canadian National Team Athletes

Objective

The purpose of this study was to describe the utilization of health team practitioners among national-level athletes and report their injury profile as well as access to and knowledge of chiropractic care.

Methods

This study was a retrospective analysis of non-identifiable, cross-sectional survey data that were previously collected from members of the AthletesCAN organization who voluntarily completed a web-based, bilingual survey in July or August 2017. The sport of the athlete, number of years on a national team, number and type of injuries, health care practitioners visited, and specific details on chiropractic care were collected. Descriptive statistics were performed to summarize the responses in terms of frequencies and percentages.

Results

There was an 11% response rate (198/1733), with 67 unique sports identified (21 winter sports [50 athletes] and 46 summer sports [148 athletes]). Athletics and swimming were the sports with the most respondents. Fewer than half (43.9%) of the 198 respondents were members of AthletesCAN for 2 to 5 years. Seventy percent reported 1 to 5 injuries over their career, with ankle, low back, and shoulder the most likely body parts affected. A majority of athletes (93.4%) reported visiting multiple practitioners, including medical physicians, physiotherapists, athletic therapists, massage therapists, and chiropractors. Two-thirds (67%) of athletes sought chiropractic treatment, most typically for neck or back pain (81.3%), despite nearly half (45.7%) being unsure about access to chiropractic care.

Conclusion

This sample of Canadian national team athletes who experience an injury may seek care from multiple types of health care providers and include chiropractic as part of their approach to health care.