ArticleBMC primary care2023
Factors associated with referral to physiotherapists for adult patients consulting for musculoskeletal disorders in primary care; an ancillary study to ECOGEN.
Article in BMC primary care, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.
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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.
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed.
- How do general practitioners diagnose and refer potential rheumatic musculoskeletal complaints? A scoping review.Clinical rheumatology · 2026Article
- Physician Referral Patterns to Physical Therapists for Managing Knee Osteoarthritis: A Retrospective Analysis of Electronic Health Records From an Integrated Health System.Arthritis care & research · 2026Article
- Factors influencing referrals amongst allied health and medical practitioners managing people with musculoskeletal conditions in Australian primary care.BMC health services research · 2026Article
- Prevalence of Patients With Pain Consulting Physiotherapists (PHYSIODOL Survey). A Nationwide Survey in France.European journal of pain (London, England) · 2026Article
- Empirical evaluation of an ICF core set for managing musculoskeletal conditions in primary care physical therapy services in Spain: a multicenter study.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciences · 2026Article
- Differences in the utilization of physical therapy for outpatients with non-specific shoulder pain labels and specific shoulder pain labels.BMC health services research · 2025Article
- The potential of a multimodal digital care program in addressing healthcare inequities in musculoskeletal pain management.NPJ digital medicine · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundMusculoskeletal disorders (MSD) are multifactorial requiring multidisciplinary treatment including physiotherapy. General practitioners (GP) have a central role in managing MSDs and mostly solicit physiotherapists accounting for 76.1% of physiotherapy referrals in France. Patient, physician, and contextual factors, including healthcare accessibility, can influence physiotherapy referral rates.
objectiveTo identify patient, physician, and contextual factors associated with physiotherapy referral in adult patients with MSDs in general practice.
methodsThis study is based on the 2011/2012 French cross-sectional ECOGEN study. Analyses included working-age patients consulting their GP for any MSD. Physiotherapy referral was assessed initially, then adjusted multilevel logistic model analysis of patient, physician, geographical area-related factors associated with these referrals was performed.
resultsAmong the 2305 patients included, 456 (19.8%) were referred to a physiotherapist. Following multilevel multivariate analyses, physiotherapist referral was more frequent for female patients (OR 1.28; 95% CI [1.03, 1.59]) with spinal (OR 1.47; 95% CI [1.18, 1.83]) and upper limb disorders (OR 1.66; 95% CI [1.20, 2.29]), and less frequent for patients ≥ 50 years (OR 0.69; 95% CI [0.52, 0.91]), living in deprived geographical areas (OR 0.60; 95% CI [0.40, 0.90]). GPs referred to a physiotherapist less frequently if they were ≥ 50 years (OR 0.50; 95% CI [0.39, 0.63]), had a high number of annual consultations, or were practicing in semi-urban area in a multidisciplinary team.
conclusionThis multilevel analysis identifies factors associated with physiotherapy referral for patients with MSDs, including living in deprived geographical areas. This constitutes an original contribution towards addressing healthcare disparities.
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