Abstract
M.Tech. (Chiropractic)
Purpose: To determine if chiropractors are using non-manipulative therapies, what types of therapies they
are using and to what degree they are being used.
Method: Participants were recruited by the Allied Health Professionals Council of South Africa via email. If
the participants wished to take part in the survey they could click on the link that was provided in the email.
The link redirected the participants to an independent website where they could answer the survey
anonymously. The survey consisted of a series of questions that the participant could answer by clicking on
the answers most applicable to them. The survey was available from the 25th of July 2016 to the 26th August
2016. A total of 100 responses were required for statistical analysis and a total of 135 responses were
received.
Results: From the data sample that was analysed it was found that a large proportion (94.7%) of
chiropractors from this survey use non-manipulative therapies. Of this total, 58% use them on more than 81%
of their patients. The use of non-manipulative therapies had an effect on the frequency of patients
manipulated. The most frequently used non-manipulative therapies were dry needling, strapping and cervical
traction.
Conclusion: The analysis of this survey showed that non-manipulative therapies appear to have significant
prevalence amongst chiropractors in this sample. The results show that a majority of the participants in the
study use non-manipulative therapies on the majority of their patients. Non-manipulative therapies such as
dry needling and strapping were found to be the most popular. Insights into chiropractic education and the
market for medical equipment suppliers were extracted from the conclusions drawn from this study.
Recommendations were made for future research.