Context Osteopaths are primary healthcare practitioners who manage musculoskeletal pain, including spinal pain, and many people worldwide consult osteopaths to help manage their pain. High velocity, low amplitude (HVLA) spinal manipulation is a technique used by physiotherapists, chiropractors and osteopaths as part of a treatment and management process, and its use varies globally. This is the first study to describe how New Zealand (NZ) osteopaths use HVLA manipulation during their management of patients with musculoskeletal pain. Objective To explore the practice, demographic and clinical management characteristics of New Zealand osteopaths who often use HVLA spinal manipulation in patient care. Methods A secondary analysis was performed on data from a New Zealand (NZ) practice-based research network. Participants were NZ registered osteopaths. Demographic, practice, and treatment characteristics was collected from osteopaths who ‘often’ and ‘not often’ use HVLA spinal manipulation in patient care. Analysis used inferential statistics and backward linear regression modelling. Results One hundred and sixty-eight (n = 168, 60.6%) of the two hundred and seventy-seven (n = 277) respondents reported often using HVLA manipulation when treating patients. Several statistically significant practice and clinical management characteristics were extracted for osteopaths who reported often using HVLA manipulation including being seven times more likely to be co-located with a chiropractor (aOR 6.80), receiving referrals from nutritionists (aOR 4.24) and often referring for imaging (aOR 2.46). Conclusions This is the first study to describe practice and clinical characteristics of osteopaths who frequently use HVLA manipulation during patient management. This emerging data provides new directions for future research to inform clinical decision making and pre-professional education.
