Low Back Pain Prognostic Factors in the Canadian Armed Forces

Abstract

Summary: Low back pain is the most common reason for referral to musculoskeletal care in the Canadian military. With healthcare seeking for musculoskeletal care rising over the past five years, and healthcare easily accessible for all military personnel, it is important to investigate factors that may contribute to high usage of the military healthcare system. Objective: To explore the association between LBP prognostic factors and musculoskeletal healthcare seeking for LBP in Canadian military population Methods: Historical cohort study, using data linkage. Results: In our exploratory analysis, fear of movement/(re)injury, Veterans Affairs compensation status, post-traumatic stress disorder, previous high use of musculoskeletal services, history of LBP, and military duty status were associated with healthcare seeking. For our confirmatory analysis, pain-related fear had an independent association with healthcare seeking in this population. Conclusion: Psychological and social factors are associated with the rate of musculoskeletal healthcare seeking in this military population.