Understanding the Role of Sports Injury Management by Australian Osteopaths: A Cross Sectional Survey of 992 Practitioners

Sport-related injuries are common presentations to primary care and hospital settings. Australian osteopaths practice mainly in private clinical settings in which the frequency of sport-related injury presentations, and how these injuries are managed, is unknown. The objective of the study was to de...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Brett Vaughan, Jon Adams, Wenbo Peng, Lauren V. Fortington, Michael Fleischmann, Kylie Fitzgerald, Amie Steel, David Sibritt
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-07-01
Series:Applied Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/15/8397
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849407814196264960
author Brett Vaughan
Jon Adams
Wenbo Peng
Lauren V. Fortington
Michael Fleischmann
Kylie Fitzgerald
Amie Steel
David Sibritt
author_facet Brett Vaughan
Jon Adams
Wenbo Peng
Lauren V. Fortington
Michael Fleischmann
Kylie Fitzgerald
Amie Steel
David Sibritt
author_sort Brett Vaughan
collection DOAJ
description Sport-related injuries are common presentations to primary care and hospital settings. Australian osteopaths practice mainly in private clinical settings in which the frequency of sport-related injury presentations, and how these injuries are managed, is unknown. The objective of the study was to describe the demographic, practice, and clinical management characteristics of Australian osteopaths who report <i>often</i> treating sport-related injuries. The study is a secondary analysis of data derived from the Australian osteopathy practice-based research network. Respondents indicated the frequency treating sports-related injuries in addition to other demographic, practice, and patient management characteristics. Backward logistic regression identified significant characteristics associated with <i>often</i> treating sport injuries. Over half (51%) of a nationally representative sample of Australian osteopaths reported treating sport-related injuries <i>often</i>. Those osteopaths who treat sports injuries <i>often</i> were likely to be male (<i>p</i> < 0.01) and utilise exercise prescription (OR2.34) and sports taping (OR5.99). Australian osteopaths who <i>often</i> treat sports-related injuries provide advice to patients and use exercise prescription more frequently than osteopaths who do not treat these injuries often. The data in the current work begin to explore how osteopaths manage sports-related injuries and highlights how they may be able to provide sports injury care for both recreational and elite sport populations.
format Article
id doaj-art-82be750f1cc94c9cb69b0bbb94dc4b62
institution Kabale University
issn 2076-3417
language English
publishDate 2025-07-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series Applied Sciences
spelling doaj-art-82be750f1cc94c9cb69b0bbb94dc4b622025-08-20T03:35:57ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172025-07-011515839710.3390/app15158397Understanding the Role of Sports Injury Management by Australian Osteopaths: A Cross Sectional Survey of 992 PractitionersBrett Vaughan0Jon Adams1Wenbo Peng2Lauren V. Fortington3Michael Fleischmann4Kylie Fitzgerald5Amie Steel6David Sibritt7School of Public Health, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney 2007, AustraliaSchool of Public Health, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney 2007, AustraliaSchool of Public Health, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney 2007, AustraliaSchool of Medical and Health Sciences, Edith Cowan University, Perth 6027, AustraliaSchool of Public Health, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney 2007, AustraliaDepartment of Medical Education, University of Melbourne, Melbourne 3010, AustraliaSchool of Public Health, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney 2007, AustraliaSchool of Public Health, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney 2007, AustraliaSport-related injuries are common presentations to primary care and hospital settings. Australian osteopaths practice mainly in private clinical settings in which the frequency of sport-related injury presentations, and how these injuries are managed, is unknown. The objective of the study was to describe the demographic, practice, and clinical management characteristics of Australian osteopaths who report <i>often</i> treating sport-related injuries. The study is a secondary analysis of data derived from the Australian osteopathy practice-based research network. Respondents indicated the frequency treating sports-related injuries in addition to other demographic, practice, and patient management characteristics. Backward logistic regression identified significant characteristics associated with <i>often</i> treating sport injuries. Over half (51%) of a nationally representative sample of Australian osteopaths reported treating sport-related injuries <i>often</i>. Those osteopaths who treat sports injuries <i>often</i> were likely to be male (<i>p</i> < 0.01) and utilise exercise prescription (OR2.34) and sports taping (OR5.99). Australian osteopaths who <i>often</i> treat sports-related injuries provide advice to patients and use exercise prescription more frequently than osteopaths who do not treat these injuries often. The data in the current work begin to explore how osteopaths manage sports-related injuries and highlights how they may be able to provide sports injury care for both recreational and elite sport populations.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/15/8397allied health personnelexercisemusculoskeletalmusculoskeletal manipulationsosteopathic medicine
spellingShingle Brett Vaughan
Jon Adams
Wenbo Peng
Lauren V. Fortington
Michael Fleischmann
Kylie Fitzgerald
Amie Steel
David Sibritt
Understanding the Role of Sports Injury Management by Australian Osteopaths: A Cross Sectional Survey of 992 Practitioners
Applied Sciences
allied health personnel
exercise
musculoskeletal
musculoskeletal manipulations
osteopathic medicine
title Understanding the Role of Sports Injury Management by Australian Osteopaths: A Cross Sectional Survey of 992 Practitioners
title_full Understanding the Role of Sports Injury Management by Australian Osteopaths: A Cross Sectional Survey of 992 Practitioners
title_fullStr Understanding the Role of Sports Injury Management by Australian Osteopaths: A Cross Sectional Survey of 992 Practitioners
title_full_unstemmed Understanding the Role of Sports Injury Management by Australian Osteopaths: A Cross Sectional Survey of 992 Practitioners
title_short Understanding the Role of Sports Injury Management by Australian Osteopaths: A Cross Sectional Survey of 992 Practitioners
title_sort understanding the role of sports injury management by australian osteopaths a cross sectional survey of 992 practitioners
topic allied health personnel
exercise
musculoskeletal
musculoskeletal manipulations
osteopathic medicine
url https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/15/8397
work_keys_str_mv AT brettvaughan understandingtheroleofsportsinjurymanagementbyaustralianosteopathsacrosssectionalsurveyof992practitioners
AT jonadams understandingtheroleofsportsinjurymanagementbyaustralianosteopathsacrosssectionalsurveyof992practitioners
AT wenbopeng understandingtheroleofsportsinjurymanagementbyaustralianosteopathsacrosssectionalsurveyof992practitioners
AT laurenvfortington understandingtheroleofsportsinjurymanagementbyaustralianosteopathsacrosssectionalsurveyof992practitioners
AT michaelfleischmann understandingtheroleofsportsinjurymanagementbyaustralianosteopathsacrosssectionalsurveyof992practitioners
AT kyliefitzgerald understandingtheroleofsportsinjurymanagementbyaustralianosteopathsacrosssectionalsurveyof992practitioners
AT amiesteel understandingtheroleofsportsinjurymanagementbyaustralianosteopathsacrosssectionalsurveyof992practitioners
AT davidsibritt understandingtheroleofsportsinjurymanagementbyaustralianosteopathsacrosssectionalsurveyof992practitioners