Analysis of the chief complaints of older patients seeking chiropractic care at a teaching clinic and potential implications for clinical education.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the chief complaints of people older than 65 years who seek chiropractic care at a chiropractic teaching clinic and assess the case mix available at the clinic. METHODS: One hundred patient files were included in this study. Patient files were included if the patient was older than 65 years when he or she initiated care at the teaching clinic. Data on age, sex, and chief complaints were recorded. RESULTS: Of the patients included in this study, 55% were female. The mean age of patients was 69.5 years, with an age range of 65-88 years. The most common chief complaint was low back pain, with 45% of patients reporting this as their chief complaint. The second most prevalent complaint was neck pain, followed by patients seeking care with no presenting complaints (14%) and patients with extremity complaints (8%). Groin pain, hip pain, balance problems, headaches, and visceral complaints were also reported. CONCLUSION: The most common reasons that older patients presented for chiropractic care were for back and neck pain. The case mix was considered similar to practices in the country.