Trends of musculoskeletal pain in children and young people consulting primary care: an electronic primary health care record study

Background: Pain in childhood is common, but there is an information gap on initial care seeking. Our aim was to determine trends and variations in the consultation prevalence and incidence of musculoskeletal pain, and most common sites of pain, in children and young people presenting to UK primary care. Methods: A national UK primary care database (CPRD Aurum) was used to determine annual prevalence and incidence of consultation for musculoskeletal pain in children and young people (aged 8–18 years) between 2005 and 2021. Incidence was defined as no musculoskeletal consultation in the previous 12 months. Rates were calculated per 10,000 registered population for each calendar year and by age, gender, and body site. Results: 1,175,641 children and young people (49% female; median age 12) consulted primary care for musculoskeletal pain. Annual consultation prevalence for musculoskeletal pain rose from 808/10,000 in 2005 to 980/10,000 in 2011, then remained stable to 2015 before falling slightly. Annual consultation rates were higher for younger and older females, although minimal differences were observed between genders for 12–15-year-olds. Foot/ankle was the most common pain site in younger children. Back pain was the most recorded pain site for females from age 16. Conclusions: This study provides contemporary data on how common consultations for musculoskeletal pain are in children and young people using nationally representative primary care electronic health records. It demonstrates that musculoskeletal pain is common in children and young people with nearly one in ten seeking primary health care each year, with different patterns by age, gender and body site. Understanding the epidemiology of musculoskeletal pain in children and young people presenting to primary care is key due to paucity of information on how to effectively care for this population and highlights a need to ensure that service provision is adapted accordingly.