Abstract
Background: Triathletes, competing in consecutive swimming, cycling, and running events of various distances and technical terrains, are prone to injury due to the high physical demand placed on their bodies. Chiropractors and physiotherapists are key health care providers for the treatment, management, and prevention of musculoskeletal injuries. The athlete’s knowledge and perception of a health care profession plays a critical part in the preference to which treatment is sought for various clinical conditions.
Aim: The primary aim of the study was to explore the knowledge, perception, and preferences of South African triathletes between chiropractic and physiotherapy for the treatment and management of musculoskeletal injuries. Aspects such as sex, age, triathlon discipline, and weekly training load were explored for their contributions to increasing risks for developing musculoskeletal injuries.
Method: This study was anonymous and exploratory, descriptive, and quantitative in nature. The study was done using a self-administered questionnaire on Google Forms, in English. Worldwide, there is limited research on the knowledge, perceptions and preferences between chiropractic and physiotherapy for the treatment of musculoskeletal injuries. No study has been done to explore athlete knowledge, perception and preferences between physiotherapy and chiropractic in South Africa.
Procedure: Permission was sought & granted by three South African Triathlon clubs to distribute the survey to its combined 370 members. The survey was designed by the researcher based on information gathered in the literature review. A pilot study was performed on five triathletes to determine whether the survey was easy to understand and complete, prior to final distribution. An email including the information letter and link to the survey was sent to the three triathlon club administrators, who then distributed it to their members. The survey was open for responses for fourteen days.
Results: The survey received 132 responses that fulfilled the inclusion criteria: a South African triathlete between 18 and 65 years of age. There were 71 males and 61 female participants. On average, participants competed in between 2 and 3 different triathlon disciplines, with the Ironman 70.3/Half Ironman and Olympic distance being the most popular. The majority of participants have suffered from triathlon related injuries and have sought treatment therefor.
Participants had good knowledge on the clinical conditions treated and modalities used by both chiropractic and physiotherapy. However, they had a much greater knowledge on the duration of formal education of physiotherapists compared to chiropractors. There was a more positive perception towards the physiotherapy profession and treatment approach compared to the chiropractic profession and treatment approach. There was a weak positive correlation between the perception towards the
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chiropractic and physiotherapy professions, meaning participants who gave higher scores for the one profession, also gave higher scores for the other, and vice versa. There were no significant differences between the South African triathletes’ preference for treatment from chiropractic and physiotherapy for low back pain, neck pain and thoracic pain. However, there was a statistically significant difference in participants’ preference for the treatment and management of acute and overuse injuries, where South African triathletes preferred physiotherapy over chiropractic care. There was a weak negative correlation to preferences between chiropractic and physiotherapy, meaning if a participant were likely to seek treatment from one profession, they were less likely to seek treatment from the other. There was no significant correlation between age, sex, triathlon discipline and weekly training load and injury prevalence. Age and sex also did not influence participant knowledge, perceptions, or preferences towards the professions.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, this study found that the participants had a more accurate understanding of the physiotherapy profession with regards to training and conditions that they treat opposed to chiropractic. Participants were also more prone to seek treatment from physiotherapists than chiropractors.