Allied Health Discipline
Evidence-Based Practice for
Chiropractic in Australia
Chiropractors in Australia are registered with AHPRA under the Chiropractic Board of Australia. The chiropractic evidence base is concentrated in musculoskeletal conditions — particularly low back pain, neck pain, and headache — where systematic reviews and clinical practice guidelines from NHMRC, Cochrane, and international bodies provide a strong evidence foundation. OpenBook Clinical allows chiropractors to rapidly access this literature, filtered and graded so that the highest-quality evidence is surfaced first.
Key Clinical Conditions
- Acute and chronic low back pain
- Cervical neck pain and stiffness
- Cervicogenic headache
- Mechanical thoracic pain
- Sciatica and lumbar radiculopathy
- Sacroiliac joint pain and pelvic girdle pain
- Sports-related musculoskeletal injuries
- Paediatric musculoskeletal presentations
Key Assessment Tools
- Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) — lumbar disability
- Neck Disability Index (NDI)
- Numerical Pain Rating Scale (NPRS)
- Fear-Avoidance Beliefs Questionnaire (FABQ)
Databases Searched
- Cochrane Musculoskeletal and Back Groups
- PubMed / MEDLINE (chiropractic and manual therapy)
- Index to Chiropractic Literature
- NHMRC Clinical Practice Guidelines
Australian Guidelines
- NHMRC Management of Low Back Pain in Adults (2022)
- Chiropractic Australia — Evidence-Informed Practice Standards
- Australian Commission on Safety and Quality — Musculoskeletal Care Standard
- Royal Australian College of General Practitioners — Acute Musculoskeletal Pain
Ready to search the Chiropractic evidence base?
OpenBook Clinical searches 35 million papers across PubMed, Cochrane, and Australian guidelines. AI-synthesised summaries. Evidence graded by quality. Free to try.