Abstract text (incl. figure legends and references)

Question

In Denmark, chiropractors treat patients with headaches but there is limited knowledge of how often patients seek care for headaches and what types of headaches are treated. The aims of this study were therefore i) to estimate the prevalence of consultations with headaches in chiropractic practice in Denmark, and ii) to investigate the headache types and diagnoses used.

Methods

Data were collected by Danish chiropractors who were invited by e-mail, social media, and a booklet. Participating chiropractors registered diagnosis on consecutive headache patients for 20 workdays during May and June 2022. For all headache patients, a novel logbook system was used to register the headache diagnoses as predefined by the International Headache Society together with age, and reason for consultation.

Results

In total, 67 chiropractors agreed to participate. The participants had an average of 18 headache and non-headache consultations per day and of these, 16% (SD 10) were patients with headaches. The mean age of the patients with headaches was 41.4 years (SD 14.4, range 5.5-90.3 years). Of the headache patients, 14% were classified as migraine, 62% as tension-type headaches, and 42% as cervicogenic headaches. Among patients with headaches, it was the primary reason for 42% of the consultations and the secondary reason for 54% (it was not reported for 4%).

Conclusions

On average, 16% of the consultations in Danish chiropractic practice concern patients with headaches, and for almost half of the headache patients, it was the primary reason for care seeking. There is limited knowledge of the types of treatments provided and the clinical course of headache patients in primary care. Therefore, it is paramount to explore the management and treatment provided in chiropractic practice and to investigate the clinical course and treatment pathways to the benefit of the patients.