ArticleBMC primary care2023
Prevalence and characteristics of musculoskeletal complaints in primary care: an analysis from the population level and analysis reporting (POLAR) database.
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 36 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
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Who cites it
36 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 51 citations in OpenAlex.
- Use of General Practitioner Services Among Workers with Work-Related Low Back Pain: A Systematic Review.Journal of occupational rehabilitation · 2025Pooled it
- Current level of rheumatology teaching amongst undergraduate medical students: a systematic literature review.Clinical rheumatology · 2025Pooled it
- Graded motor imagery as an adjunct to comprehensive physiotherapy in chronic rotator cuff-related pain: a single blind randomized controlled trial.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2025Trial
- RhePort 1.3 enhances early identification of inflammatory rheumatic diseases: a prospective study in German rheumatology settings.Rheumatology international · 2025Trial
- Insights into the proportion of consultations for musculoskeletal disorders in Dutch general practice: a register-based retrospective cohort study.BMC primary care · 2026Article
- Development and proof-of-concept of a complex intervention to support appropriate imaging for musculoskeletal pain: the Betti programme.Implementation science communications · 2026Article
- Enhancing musculoskeletal examination skills through near-peer teaching: student outcomes and perspectives.BMC medical education · 2026Article
- "Learn and Move" Program for the Management of Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain in Primary Care: A Pilot Study.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Can Machines Identify Pain Effects? A Machine Learning Proof of Concept to Identify EMG Pain Signature.Bioengineering (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Article
- Attrition and representativeness in development and validation of online symptom checkers-a case study on theFrontiers in artificial intelligence · 2026Article
- Association between hormone replacement therapy and clinical outcomes in women with rotator cuff tears.Archives of ISPRM · 2026Article
- Perceived Impacts of Health Care System Navigation on Health and Well-Being Among Patients With Musculoskeletal Conditions: A Qualitative Study.Health services insights · 2026Article
- Effects of resistance exercises on rotator cuff muscle mechanical characteristics in shoulders with and without rotator cuff tears.PloS one · 2026Article
- Development and validation of a clinical risk prediction rule to identify inflammatory arthritis at the point of rheumatology triage.Rheumatology advances in practice · 2026Article
- Prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders and physiotherapy utilization in primary care - a registry-based study in Sweden.BMC primary care · 2025Article
- Effect of structured orthopaedic education on musculoskeletal knowledge among non-orthopaedic healthcare professionals: A narrative review.Journal of clinical orthopaedics and trauma · 2025Article
- Impact of dynamic changes in pain on cardiovascular disease in Chinese middle and elderly people: results from China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS).BMC public health · 2025Article
- Review
- Conversational Agents to Support Pain Management: A Scoping Review.European journal of pain (London, England) · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundElectronic health record datasets have been used to determine the prevalence of musculoskeletal complaints in general practice but not to examine the associated characteristics and healthcare utilisation at the primary care level.
aimTo describe the prevalence and characteristics of patients presenting to general practitioners with musculoskeletal complaints. DESIGN AND
settingA five-year analysis within three Primary Health Networks (PHNs) in Victoria, Australia.
methodWe included patients with at least one face-to-face consultation 2014 to 2018 inclusive and a low back (≥ 18 years), and/or neck, shoulder or knee (≥ 45 years) complaint determined by SNOMED codes derived from diagnostic text within the medical record. We determined prevalence, socio-demographic characteristics and diagnostic codes for patients with an eligible diagnosis; and number of consultations within one year of diagnosis.
results324,793/1,294,021 (25%) presented with at least one musculoskeletal diagnosis, of whom 41% (n = 133,279) fulfilled our inclusion criteria. There were slightly more females (n = 73,428, 55%), two-thirds (n = 88,043) were of working age (18-64 years) and 83,816 (63%) had at least one comorbidity. Over half had a low back diagnosis (n = 76,504, 57%) followed by knee (n = 33,438, 25%), shoulder (n = 26,335, 20%) and neck (n = 14,492, 11%). Most codes included 'pain' and/or 'ache' (low back: 58%, neck: 41%, shoulder: 32%, knee 26%). Median (IQR) all-cause consultations per patient within one year of diagnosis was 7 (4-12).
conclusionThe burden of MSK complaints at the primary care level is high as evidenced by the prevalence of people with musculoskeletal complaints presenting to a general practitioner, the preponderance of comorbidities and the numerous consultations per year. Identification and evaluation of strategies to reduce this burden are needed.
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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.