USE OF ALTERNATIVE THERAPY BY ORTHOPEDIC OUTPATIENTS

Objective: To determine the proportion of orthopaedic outpatient atten ders who have sought 'alternative medicine' treatment. Methods: A ques tionnaire survey was distributed to 114 new patients at the orthopaedi c clinic of a district general hospital: 109 (96%) were sufficiently c omplete for analysis. Patients were asked if they had attended an oste opath, a chiropractor, an acupuncturist, a reflexologist or a private physiotherapist. The attending orthopaedic surgeon completed the worki ng diagnosis and outcome of the consultation. Results: 30 Patients (28 %) had attended one or more of the listed alternative practices. Six o f these patients had attended two of the listed therapists, but none h ad attended three. The alternative attenders were younger and more lik ely to suffer a lower back problem than non-attenders. Thirty per cent of the alternative attenders were regarded as suitable for surgery co mpared to 17% of the non alternative attenders. Conclusion: Almost one third of orthopaedic outpatients attend alternative therapy. These pa tients are twice as likely to be offered surgery compared to patients who have not attended native therapy. It is essential to establish pro spective randomized controlled trials to critically analyse these alte rnative methods.