Abstract
Longitudinal research is needed to determine predictive factors of healthcare utilization and medication intake in people with non-specific spinal pain. This study aims to prospectively examine the predictive value of sex, age, work status, pain intensity, pain acceptance, disability, depression, pain anxiety, and catastrophizing in relation to healthcare utilization and medication intake in people with non-specific spinal pain. Participants were 79 patients with non-specific spinal pain of 6 to 9 months’ duration. They were followed-up at 6 months and 12 months. At enrolment they were administered a battery of questionnaires assessing the predictive variables. Healthcare utilization and medication intake were assessed at follow-ups 1 and 2. At follow-up 1, higher pain acceptance was associated with less healthcare utilization and less medication intake, while male sex was associated with less medication intake. At follow-up 2, higher pain-related disability was associated with higher healthcare use, and pain intensity was associated with higher medication intake. These results suggest that during the early stages of non-specific spinal pain chronification, pain acceptance and the avoidance of pain-related disability—understood as giving up normal activities—can lead to reductions in healthcare utilization and medication intake.
Highlights
One billion adults worldwide experience non-specific spinal pain [1]
The present study’s objective was to prospectively assess the predictive value of pain acceptance and pain-related disability, pain intensity, depression, age, sex, work status, pain anxiety, and pain catastrophizing in relation to healthcare utilization and medication intake in people with non-specific spinal pain
Negative binomial regression analyses showed that pain acceptance significantly predicted healthcare utilization and medication intake when participants had experienced non-specific spinal pain for 12 to 15 months
Summary
The term “non-specific pain” is used because this type of pain cannot be reliably attributed to a specific underlying condition, such as cancer, infection, or inflammatory disease [2]. Due to this absence of underlying disease, healthcare professionals find the clinical assessment and treatment of such patients extremely difficult [3]. The use of healthcare services and medication intake is higher in patients with chronic pain than in the general population, but is even higher in those with spinal pain [4]. Health service funders and patients experience increased costs [5]. Patients often experience high levels of emotional frustration because of the apparently endless succession of fruitless tests, consultations, and changes in medication
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