Care for chronic musculoskeletal pain varies across age

Abstract

An increasing prevalence of chronic musculoskeletal (MSK) pain conditions has been documented for children, adolescents, and young adults. Despite this increase, there has been scarce literature examining treatment modalities for MSK and, in particular, differences in treatments across ages. In this volume of The Journal, Feldman and Nahin reported treatment trends for children and young adults who had received care for MSK. The results indicated that non-opioid medication use was the most commonly prescribed intervention, relative to other interventions such as counseling and physical therapy, and that the primary mode of therapy changed across age groups. One of the more interesting features of this report was the finding that the prescription of opioids increased in the older cohort (ages 18 to 24) and was similar to opioid prescription rates among adults. This finding is noteworthy given that medication-based treatments for MSK have not been subject to clinical trials, and the long-term use of pain medication is problematic. For pediatricians, the results of this study are informative for several reasons. First, the topic of opioid use is a relevant topic of study in healthcare, and a reliance on opioids to manage pain earlier in life could lead to increased dependency in adulthood. Second, these data reveal the type of MSK referred at given age ranges, which sheds some light on relative symptom presentation that has been lacking in the literature. Third, the authors highlight the need for multidisciplinary care to address the biopsychosocial impact of MSK. Finally, these results support the need for additional research on the identification and management of MSK in the pediatric population. Article page 212 ▸ National Estimates of Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain and Its Treatment in Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults in the United States: Data From the 2007-2015 National Ambulatory Medical Care SurveyThe Journal of PediatricsVol. 233PreviewTo portray physician office visits by young Americans with chronic musculoskeletal pain; to describe clinical management in this group; and to explore factors associated with prescribed treatments. Full-Text PDF