Research into practice: improving musculoskeletal care in general practice.

Abstract

Musculoskeletal disorders such as back pain, neck pain, osteoarthritis, and rarer conditions like gout and inflammatory arthritis are the most common limiting long-term conditions in the UK.1 They represent a huge and growing burden on population health, accounting for 30% of all years lived with disability, and 7.5 million days lost from work each year. The challenge was recognised by the Chief Medical Officer and confirmed in the recent Global Burden of Disease report: ‘Although health-care cost and activity data confirm that these conditions consume massive UK health system resources, concerted public health and high-quality integrated medical care strategies are not implemented systematically. Interventions are available for musculoskeletal disorders, but to what extent the health system is delivering is unclear. Musculoskeletal disorders will only increase in importance in view of present trends and require more urgent policy attention.’ 1 General practice and primary care more generally have a critical role in meeting these challenges. Of the 300 million general practice consultations that occur in England every year, approximately one in six are for arthritis and musculoskeletal problems. An important feature of primary care is its capacity to address the needs of patients with long-term conditions such as musculoskeletal complaints; this includes responsibility for anticipatory and preventive care across the life-course, supporting patients to self-manage their condition, and delivery of evidence-based clinical treatment. Effective primary health care can improve the health and wellbeing of individual patients and their families, and reduce the health and economic impact of musculoskeletal disorders on the population as a whole. The Research Institute for Primary Care and Health Sciences at Keele University is a multidisciplinary collaboration between academics from general practice, clinical rheumatology, epidemiology, physiotherapy, psychology, and health services research, and clinical partners across the West Midlands and Cheshire. …