• Qiuzhe Chen, Bjørnar Berg, Margreth Grotle, Chris G Maher, Kjersti Storheim, and Gustavo C Machado.
• Sydney Musculoskeletal Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia.
• Eur J Pain. 2024 Jul 5.

BackgroundTo describe the frequency of primary care seeking for neck or back-related conditions among people with chronic neck and low back pain and to develop prediction models of primary care seeking and frequent visits.MethodsWe included participants of the Trøndelag Health Study (HUNT4, 2017-19) in Norway who self-reported chronic neck and/or low back pain in the preceding year, and extracted data of primary care visits from the Norwegian primary healthcare registry. We investigated a total of 23 potential predictors and used multivariable logistic regression models to predict primary care seeking for neck or back-related conditions and frequent visits by healthcare provider (i.e., the highest quartile of number of visits).ResultsAmong the 15,352 HUNT4 participants with chronic neck and/or low back pain, 6231 participants (40.6%) sought primary care for neck or back-related conditions (median = 5 visits, IQR 2-15) within 2 years after the study. Participants who consulted physical therapists sought care the most frequently (median = 10 visits, IQR 3-26). Discrimination of the best-fit prediction model of primary care seeking and frequent visits by healthcare provider, assessed by C-statistic, ranged from 0.66-0.76. Participants who made frequent primary care visits in the preceding year were highly likely to continue frequent care seeking in the following 2 years.ConclusionsAround 40% of people seek primary care for chronic neck and low back pain, and frequent care seeking may continue for years. Future studies should investigate strategies to reduce recurrent primary care visits, especially seeking physical therapist care, and promote self-management of chronic pain.SignificancePeople with chronic neck and low back pain who seek physical therapist care had the highest frequency of care seeking, underscoring the significant burden on healthcare systems. The high frequency of visits and associated healthcare expenditures highlight the critical need for effective and valuable primary care for chronic pain management. To mitigate recurrent visits and reduce costs, it is essential to provide patients with evidence-based treatments and self-management interventions.© 2024 The Author(s). European Journal of Pain published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of European Pain Federation ‐ EFIC ®.

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