Musculoskeletal chronic pain in general practice: Studies of health care utilisation in comparison with pain prevalence

Is musculoskeletal pain more common now than 40 years ago?: two population-based cross-sectional studies

“…White et al [35] reported that fibromyalgia, of which chronic widespread pain is a distinguishing feature, is now one of the commonest reasons for patient referrals to rheumatology clinics and it is the only disorder rheumatologists believe to have increased substantially in the past 5 yr. Similarly, Andersson et al [6] found that in the primary care setting consultations for musculoskeletal pain increased between the years 1987 and 1996, and this was mainly attributed to fibromyalgia [6]. As a consequence, the reporting of pain symptoms may be higher in Study 2, although whether this explains such marked increases over time, and whether it explains the differential increases observed between men and women, is debatable.…”

“…No population-based studies have been identified that examined the prevalence of shoulder pain or chronic widespread pain over time. However, between 1987 and 1996 Andersson et al [6] reported an increase in primary care consultations as a result of pain and this increased consultation rate was primarily due to fibromyalgia. Meanwhile, others have reported that claims for fibromyalgia 'have reached near epidemic proportions' in those seeking some form of compensation through the legal system [7,8].…”

Individually Tailored Treatment Targeting Activity, Motor Behavior, and Cognition Reduces Pain–Related Disability: A Randomized Controlled Trial in Patients With Musculoskeletal Pain

“…5 The patients were asked to list important and specific activities and situations that they (1) were unable or had difficulties performing as a result of pain and (2) expected to improve by means of the treatment. The goals were then discussed with reference to (1) importance, ie, the patient's ranking or priority of the goals, (2) frequency, ie, how often they occurred in the patient's daily life, and (3) magnitude of efficacy expectations, ie, the ordering of the goals according to the patient's perception of their level of difficulty. 6 One single behavioral goal was then selected as the first target for analysis and treatment.…”

How do people ease their pain? A population-based study

“…18 Previous studies on pain management have limited their focus only on use of pharmacologic treatments 32 or on pain patients who visit a physician. 2,20,22,28 Pain management strategies and care-seeking of people with musculoskeletal pain 42 or chronic pain 1,21 have been studied, but those with non-chronic pain were ignored. Use of health care services and complementary therapies for only a specified location of pain (eg, back or neck pain) has been studied.…”