ArticleBMC health services research2016
Health care contact following a new incident neck or low back pain episode in the general population; the HUNT study.
Article in BMC health services research, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
19 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 32 citations in OpenAlex.
- Adverse events following cervical spine self-manipulation: A systematic review.PM & R : the journal of injury, function, and rehabilitation · 2026Pooled it
- Use of General Practitioner Services Among Workers with Work-Related Low Back Pain: A Systematic Review.Journal of occupational rehabilitation · 2025Pooled it
- Health-care utilisation for low back pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis of population-based observational studies.Rheumatology international · 2019Pooled it
- Trial
- Minimal Clinically Important Difference in Patients with Acute Neck Pain Undergoing Conservative Treatment with Korean Medicine.Journal of pain research · 2025Article
- Patient characteristics and healthcare use for high-cost patients with musculoskeletal disorders in Norway: a cohort study.BMC health services research · 2024Article
- Identifying latent subgroups in the older population seeking primary health care for a new episode of back pain - findings from the BACE-N cohort.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2024Observational
- A cross-sectional survey exploring clinician perceptions of a novel Medicaid back pain policy.Journal of complementary & integrative medicine · 2023Article
- Prevalence and factors associated with low back pain among health care providers in public hospitals of Gamo zone, Southern Ethiopia.SAGE open medicine · 2022Article
- Article
- Evaluation Instruments for Assessing Back Pain in Athletes: A Systematic Review Protocol.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2020Article
- The Relationship between Cognitive and Emotional Factors and Healthcare and Medication Use in People Experiencing Pain: A Systematic Review.Journal of clinical medicine · 2020Review
- Back pain occurrence and treatment-seeking behavior among nurses: the role of work-related emotional burden.Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation · 2020Article
- Article
- Factors affecting healthcare utilization for low back pain among nurses in Gondar town, northwest Ethiopia, 2018: a cross-sectional study.BMC research notes · 2019Article
- Are trajectories of neck-shoulder pain associated with sick leave and work ability in workers? A 1-year prospective study.BMJ open · 2019Article
- Article
- Effectiveness of a standardised exercise programme for recurrent neck and low back pain: a multicentre, randomised, two-arm, parallel group trial across 34 fitness clubs in Finland.BMJ open sport & exercise medicine · 2017Article
- Visual, Musculoskeletal, and Balance Complaints in AMD: A Follow-Up Study.Journal of ophthalmology · 2016Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundLow back and neck pain are commonly reported in the general population and represent frequent causes for health care consultations. The main aim of this study was to describe the determinants of health care contact during a 1-year period in a general population with recent onset spinal pain.
methodsFrom 9056 participants in a general health survey in Norway we identified 219 persons reporting a recent onset (<1 month) of low back or neck pain. Questionnaires were given at 1 (baseline), 2, 3, 6 and 12 months after pain debut. The main outcome was self-reported health care contact due to spinal pain. Associations between health care contact and pain-related factors, other somatic and mental health factors, pain-related work limitations, physical activity and sociodemographic factors were explored.
resultsConventional health care was sought by 93 persons (43 %) at least once throughout the year following the onset of pain. 18 persons (8 %) sought alternative health care only and 108 persons (49 %) sought no kind of health care. Baseline reports of coexisting low back and neck pain of equal intensity, poor self-reported health, symptoms of anxiety or depression, obesity and smoking were all associated with an increased tendency to seek conventional health care. Pain intensity and pain-related work limitations at each occasion were strongly associated with concurrent health care contact throughout the year. Higher education was associated with a reduced tendency to contact health care and no association was found for physical activity.
conclusionThe main finding in this study was that people from the general population who seek health-care for a new incident of neck or low back pain report more symptoms of mental distress, poorer self-reported health and more intense pain with stronger work limitations compared to those who do not. The findings suggest that identification of complementary symptoms is highly relevant in the examination of spinal pain patients, even for those with recent onset of symptoms.
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Registered trials
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