Ke. Rekola et al., PATIENTS WITH NECK AND SHOULDER COMPLAINTS AND MULTISITE MUSCULOSKELETAL SYMPTOMS - A PROSPECTIVE-STUDY, Journal of rheumatology, 24(12), 1997, pp. 2424-2428
Objective. To examine reasons for and extent of health services utiliz
ation in patients seeking care for neck and shoulder pain in a populat
ion based primary care setting. Methods. Patients seeking care for nec
k and shoulder pain were identified from medical records of 6526 patie
nts visiting 6 primary care centers during a 2 week period. The extent
of and reasons for health care utilization over the subsequent 12 mon
th period were examined. Results. Of 440 patients who consulted primar
y health carl physicians for neck and shoulder pain, one-half had one
or more additional episodes of care due to musculoskeletal (MSK) pain
over the subsequent 12 months. One-quarter had additional episodes of
care for pain in other sites than in the neck and shoulder. The total
number of visits was twice the annual average for patients visiting th
e health centers, MSK symptoms accounting for half the visits. Twenty
percent of the women and 7% of the men visited primary care physicians
10 times or more per year. Conclusion. The pattern of reasons for vis
its for MSK pain suggests that in about one-quarter of patients visiti
ng primary care physicians for neck and shoulder pain, the local sympt
omatology is part of multisite MSK symptoms, resulting in frequent uti
lization of health services.