The clinical factors associated with benefit finding of complementary medicine use in patients with back pain: A cross-sectional study with cluster analysis

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Kavadar, Gulis^{a; *} | Demircioğlu, Demet Tekdos^b | Can, Halil^c | Emre, Tuluhan Yunus^d | Civelek, Erdinç^c | Senyigit, Abdulhalim^e

Affiliations: [a] Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Department, Gunesli Medicine Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey | [b] Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Department, Memorial Hizmet Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey | [c] Neurosurgery Department, Gunesli Medicine Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey | [d] Orthopedics and Traumatology Department, Memorial Hizmet Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey | [e] Internal Medicine Department, Gunesli Medicine Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey

Correspondence: [*] Corresponding author: Gulis Kavadar, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Department, Gunesli Medicine Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey. Tel.: +90 5058197745; E-mail:gulisd@hotmail.com

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use has been increasing. OBJECTIVE: To identify the factors associated with perceived benefit from CAM methods in back problems. METHODS: The study was conducted on patients who practiced any CAM methods due to complaints of back pain. Social-demographic properties, details of CAM methods employed were questioned. Severity of pain was measured by visual analog scale (VAS); benefits were evaluated by the Likert scale. Hierarchical cluster analysis was used to discover relationships among variables. RESULTS: In total, 500 patients (265 female, 235 male) were included in the study. Mostly used methods were herbal therapy (32%), balneotherapy (31%), cupping (19.4%) and massage-manipulation (19.2%). Of patients, 355 (71%) were satisfied. The variables associated with benefit finding were female gender, age, chronicity and severity of pain, high educational level, upper middle income status, use as a result of recommendation, dissatisfaction with conventional methods, residence in an urban area, non-herbal method use, being married, and social insurance (p < 0.005). CONCLUSION: The majority of patients using CAM perceived benefits; in particular, women living in urban areas, highly educated, aged more than 40, who suffer from severe chronic back pain, may be more inclined to go to CAM therapists.

Keywords: Complementary medicine, alternative medicine, back pain, benefit, cluster analysis

DOI: 10.3233/BMR-150470

Journal: Journal of Back and Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation, vol. 30, no. 2, pp. 271-277, 2017