ArticleClinical epidemiology2021
Trajectories of Musculoskeletal Healthcare Utilization of People with Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain - A Population-Based Cohort Study.
Article in Clinical epidemiology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 22 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
22 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Systematic review of clinical practice guidelines on acupuncture for chronic musculoskeletal pain.BMC complementary medicine and therapies · 2025Pooled it
- Expectations and communication in opioid pain management: a qualitative study of patients' experience.Scandinavian journal of primary health care · 2026Article
- Treatment trajectories among patients with musculoskeletal disorders in Norway - a register-based cohort study over 2 years.Scandinavian journal of primary health care · 2026Article
- Article
- Spine-Related Health Care Utilization and Costs Following Orthobiologic Injection Versus Lumbar Surgery for Degenerative Spine Conditions.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2026Article
- Economic evaluation of advanced practice physiotherapy models of care for upper extremity musculoskeletal disorders In Denmark: a registry-based cohort study.The European journal of health economics : HEPAC : health economics in prevention and care · 2026Article
- Article
- Predicting high health care use in patients with spinal disorder in secondary care: model development and validation.Pain reports · 2026Article
- Efficacy and safety of Tai Chi for chronic musculoskeletal pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in pain research (Lausanne, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Prospective associations between 24-h device-measured occupational and leisure-time physical activity and register-based musculoskeletal-related primary healthcare utilization among Danish workers.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Sequence Analysis to Phenotype Health Care Patterns in Adults With Musculoskeletal Conditions Using Primary Care Electronic Health Records.Arthritis care & research · 2025Article
- Long-term pain and health economic outcomes in adults receiving multidisciplinary CBT for chronic pain: the role of psychological inflexibility.Frontiers in pain research (Lausanne, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Healthcare utilization and resource distribution before and after interdisciplinary pain rehabilitation in primary care.Scandinavian journal of pain · 2025Article
- Patient characteristics and healthcare use for high-cost patients with musculoskeletal disorders in Norway: a cohort study.BMC health services research · 2024Article
- Musculoskeletal disorders in Norway: trends in health care utilization and patient pathways: a nationwide register study.Scandinavian journal of primary health care · 2024Article
- Use of primary healthcare services before and after specialized rehabilitation and its relation to changes in health and functioning: a longitudinal cohort study.Journal of rehabilitation medicine · 2024Article
- The use of healthcare services and disabling chronic pain: results from the cross-sectional population-based Andalusian Health Survey.European journal of public health · 2024Article
- Combination of health care service use and the relation to demographic and socioeconomic factors for patients with musculoskeletal disorders: a descriptive cohort study.BMC health services research · 2023Article
- The Swiss chiropractic practice-based research network: a population-based cross-sectional study to inform future musculoskeletal research.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- The risk of an incident hospital contact with a musculoskeletal disorder in Danish occupational fishers: a register-based study.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND
aimChronic musculoskeletal pain is common and associated with more general healthcare-seeking. However, musculoskeletal-related healthcare utilization is under-explored. This study aimed to explore, describe and profile trajectories of long-term musculoskeletal healthcare for people reporting chronic musculoskeletal pain.
methodsThis exploratory prognostic cohort study combined survey and national health register data from a representative group of adult Danes reporting chronic musculoskeletal pain (N = 2929). Trajectories of long-term musculoskeletal healthcare use were generated using latent class growth analysis. Types of healthcare-seeking, individual, sociodemographic, health, belief and work-related factors were used to describe and profile identified trajectories.
resultsWe identified five distinct trajectories of long-term musculoskeletal healthcare utilization (low stable, low ascending, low descending, medium stable and high stable). The low stable trajectory group (no or almost no annual contacts) represented 39% of the sample, whereas the high stable trajectory group (consistent high number of annual contacts) represented 8%. Most healthcare-seeking was in primary healthcare settings (GP/physiotherapy/chiropractor). Opioid consumption was primarily in the high stable trajectory group, and surgery was rare. There were statistically significant differences across the five trajectory groups in individual, sociodemographic, health, belief and work-related profiles.
conclusionLong-term use of musculoskeletal healthcare services varied in this chronic musculoskeletal pain population. Almost 40% coped without seeking care, whereas 8% had consistent high use of healthcare services. Chronic musculoskeletal pain was mostly managed in primary care settings, which aligns with musculoskeletal guidelines, as did the use of pain medication and surgery. People with different musculoskeletal healthcare trajectories had different individual, sociodemographic, health, belief and work-related profiles.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.