Abstract
Patient profiles gather data on who visits a healthcare facility and describes patients’ primary complaints as well as their demographic information. Effective management of a healthcare facility is dependent on the understanding of patient profiles as these provide the facility with valuable information about the patients’ they deliver a service to. Musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions are known to be a leading cause of disability in our society. Du Toit (2020) demonstrated that the majority of patients who consulted at the University of Johannesburg (UJ) Homeopathy Health Centre (HHC) were very satisfied with the homeopathic management of their MSK condition. It concluded that there is a favourable demand for adjunctive homeopathic treatment for MSK conditions. The study did however not report on the concurrent use of biopuncture in the management of MSK conditions. Biopuncture is a subcutaneous and intramuscular injection therapy which makes use of natural medicines (such as homeopathic remedies) to stimulate the natural self-healing capacities of the body.
The aim of the study was to evaluate and describe the profiles of patients that presented with MSK conditions and were treated with biopuncture, at the UJ HHC from January 2019 to December 2020.
This study was conducted as a quantitative, retrospective study and the results formulated a profile of the patients who attended the UJ HHC during the period of January 2019 to December 2020. The population size was limited to the number of patients who have previously been to the UJ HHC from January 2019 to December 2020, and who presented with a MSK complaint and received biopuncture as part of their treatment approach. A total of 118 patient files were used in this study. Due to the limited population size, there was no randomisation. The data collected in the research study was summarised and analysed using frequencies, percentages, cross tabulations (in order to assess the relationships between the variables), and descriptive statistics. STATKON assisted in the statistical representations.
There was a total of 541 MSK related consults over the 2-year period. Only 118 files fulfilled the inclusion criteria and were used in this study. The demographic data showcased that majority of the participants were of black (45.3%) ethnicity, female (72.9%), between the age of 46 and 55 years (25.4%) and were pensioners (24.8%). The most prominent MSK disorders
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diagnosed within the 2-year period was arthritis (26.3%), and muscle and tendon disorders (28.8%). The majority of the diagnosed MSK conditions were chronic (66.4%) in nature. The most prominent MSK symptoms presented by the participants in the study were muscle pain (72.9% and joint pain (41.5%).
The most prominent biopuncture formulations administered to the participants in the 2-year period was Traumeel ® (53.4%) and Spascupreel ® (25.4%). The majority of the participants experienced no side effects or aggravations (89.3%) and responded primarily with little improvement (46.7%).
It is clear that more studies are required in order to observe trends and burdens of MSK disorders. Comparing these trends to other healthcare facilities will enable these healthcare facilities to improve their services to their communities. Observing the effects of biopuncture treatment on MSK conditions throughout different communities and clinics will improve the understanding and use of this treatment method. The outcomes of this study showcase that biopuncture is useful in the treatment of MSK conditions, however, more specific research studies are required in order to more accurately assess the efficacy of biopuncture treatments.