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Manual Therapy 13 (2008) 426–433


www.elsevier.com/math

Incidence of non-traumatic complaints of arm, neck and shoulder in


general practice
A. Feleusa,b,, S.M.A. Bierma-Zeinstraa, H.S. Miedemab, R.M.D. Bernsena,c,
J.A.N. Verhaard, B.W. Koesa
a
Department of General Practice, Erasmus MC, P.O. BOX 2040, 3000 CA, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
b
Netherlands Expert Center for Workrelated Musculoskeletal Disorders, Erasmus MC University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam,
The Netherlands
c
Department of Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates
d
Department of Orthopaedics, Erasmus MC University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Received 29 December 2006; accepted 29 May 2007

Abstract

Incidence densities in primary care are often based on disease or region-specific code registration (e.g. ‘epicondylitis’, ‘shoulder
symptom’) according to the International Classification of Primary Care (ICPC). Few estimates are available on arm, neck and
shoulder complaints. Unknown, is the proportion missed due to registration with a non-region-specific code (e.g. ‘muscle pain’).
Therefore, we estimated the incidence in non-traumatic arm, neck and shoulder complaints in the age-group 18–64 years, and
determined the contribution of non-specific codes to the total figure.
In this prospective registration study, 21 general practitioners (GPs) from 13 Dutch general practices classified and registered patient’s
symptoms and diagnoses according to ICPC at each consultation during 12 consecutive months. Incidence densities were calculated.
The incidence density was 97.4/1000 person-years (95% CI: 91.2–103.7). This results in 147 (95% CI: 138–157) incident cases/year
for an average-sized GP-practice (2350 patients). Main contributors were: shoulder (L92, L08) and neck complaints (L01, L83).
Of all incident consultations, 23% were registered with non-region-specific codes, mainly ‘other musculoskeletal disease’ (L99).
Non-traumatic complaints of arm, neck and shoulder are frequently consulted for in Dutch primary care. When estimating
morbidity in primary care, based on diagnostic codes, one should be aware of possible underestimation of morbidity and
corresponding workload, when excluding codes not specific for that region or disease.
r 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Incidence; Neck; Arm; Shoulder

1. Introduction lands, the 12-month period prevalence in the general


population was estimated at 31.4% for neck pain,
Complaints of the arm, neck and/or shoulder are very 30.3% for shoulder pain, 11.2% for elbow pain and
common in Western societies (Urwin et al., 1998; 17.5% for wrist or hand pain. About 30% of those
Picavet and Schouten, 2003; Hill et al., 2004; Luime people with pain in the neck or upper extremities
et al., 2004; Walker-Bone et al., 2004a). In the Nether- reported limitations in daily life during the previous 12
months, and 16–20% of the workers reported sick leave.
Corresponding author. Department of General Practice, Erasmus Besides, 30–40% of the respondents with pain reported
contact with a general practitioner (GP) due to these
MC, P.O. BOX 2040, 3000 CA, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Tel.: +31 10 4632122; fax: +31 10 4089491. complaints (Picavet and Schouten, 2003). A study in the
E-mail address: a.feleus@erasmusmc.nl (A. Feleus). general population in Norway, reported that 45% of

1356-689X/$ - see front matter r 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.math.2007.05.010
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adults experiencing non-inflammatory musculoskeletal The aim of our study was to estimate the 12-month
pain consulted a GP in the previous 12 months (Hagen incidence of non-traumatic arm, neck and shoulder
et al., 2000). complaints in the age-group 18–64 years in Dutch
Previous studies (Hagen et al., 2000; Cote et al., 2001; general practice based on registration of both region- or
Luime et al., 2005) identified factors associated with disease-specific ICPC codes and non-region-specific
consulting a GP (Hagen et al., 2000; Luime et al., 2005), ICPC codes.
or health care in general (Cote et al., 2001). Among the
prominent factors they found: high pain intensity
(Hagen et al., 2000; Cote et al., 2001), much disability 2. Method
(Cote et al., 2001), sickness absence (Hagen et al., 2000;
Luime et al., 2005), long duration of the complaint 2.1. Design and setting
(Hagen et al., 2000; Luime et al., 2005) and widespread
pain (Hagen et al., 2000). Thus, when complaints are This prospective study on the incidence of arm, neck
annoying, people are more likely to consult their GP. and shoulder complaints was carried out in general
There are, however, only a few estimates on the practices in the southwest region of the Netherlands.
incidence of neck and upper extremity complaints in General practioners could participate in the study if they
primary care (van der Windt et al., 1995; Bot et al., worked with an electronic medical record system, which
2005; Linsell et al., 2005). was used by almost all GPs since 2000. They further had
In the Netherlands, virtually everybody is registered to agree to code all consultations during their 12-month
with a GP. At the time of the study, the GP acted as registration period plus the previous 6 months according
gatekeeper and referred patients to other care providers to the ICPC (Lamberts and Wood, 1987). The Medical
within primary or secondary care. This implies that Ethics Committee of the Erasmus Medical Center
incident consultation rate in general practice is also a approved the study protocol.
reasonable reflection of the number of people seeking
medical care. 2.2. Consultations
To categorize a complaint, diagnosis or intervention
in general practice, the World Organization of The inclusion criteria were: a new consultation for a
Family Doctors (WONCA) developed the International complaint of arm, neck or shoulder, and age 18–64
Classification of Primary Care (ICPC) as the years. A consultation was defined ‘new’ when patients
ordering principle of family practice domain (Lamberts had not consulted their GP for the same complaint in 6
and Wood, 1987). The ICPC registration gives months prior to the consultation date. Consultations
the opportunity to determine morbidity in primary were excluded if a complaint could be explained by a
care. trauma, fracture, malignancy, amputation, prosthesis,
A recent high-quality study in Dutch general practice congenital defect or previously diagnosed systemic
based on ICPC registration showed an incidence of 66 and/or generalized neurological disorder.
consultations per 1000 person-years attributable to a In this broad search, we included 34 ICPC codes that
new complaint or new episode of a complaint of neck or could be used to register non-traumatic arm, neck and
upper extremity. This indicates approximately three shoulder complaints. Of these 34 codes, 10 were specific
consultations each week in an average practice with for the region of arm, neck and shoulder (see Appendix 1,
2500 registered persons (Bot et al., 2005). These figures ICPC codes specific for arm, neck and shoulder are
are based on location-specific codes for symptoms or presented in bold). The remaining 24 were codes that
diseases of arm, neck and shoulder within the ICPC could possibly be used by the GP to register complaints of
registration system. arm, neck and shoulder. This latter group consisted
Research among the general population, however, mainly of non-region-specific codes.
showed that in about 50% of those reporting pain, the
complaint is not restricted to a single site (Picavet and 2.3. Procedures
Schouten, 2003; Walker-Bone et al., 2004b). Therefore,
multiple-sited complaints and complaints the GP cannot The age and gender distribution of each practice
clearly diagnose at the first consultation, might be population was registered to determine the denomina-
registered under an ICPC code that is not specific for tor. To account for possible changes in practice
that location (e.g. neck or shoulder or hand) or disease population, the mid-time population was determined,
(e.g. epicondylitis or carpal tunnel syndrome). Studies using the mean of the patients registered at the start and
based on location-specific complaints alone, probably at the end of the study registration period.
do not reflect the complete picture. Little is known Specific software programs were used to determine the
however, about the proportion of complaints that is numerator during the 12-month registration period. To
missed. guarantee privacy, all analyses were performed using
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anonymous records. The search result consisted of: All calculations were carried with the statistical
ICPC code, consultation date, code of the GP, patient package SPSS (Version 11.0) for Windows (SPSS Inc.,
number, date of birth and gender. Consultations were Chicago, IL, USA).
excluded if patients were not already registered with that
GP 6 months prior to the consultation and therefore
exclusion criteria could not be checked, and if the 3. Results
contact was of a temporary nature (e.g. during vacation,
consultations as locum). 3.1. Population at risk
Subsequently, the researcher (authorized by the GP)
checked the inclusion criteria in the patient medical files. In total, 21 GPs working in 13 practices participated
For reasons of efficiency, a 25% random-check of in this study. Nine of the 13 practices were single-
identified cases was made according to a strict protocol. handed, and 4 were group practices with 2–4 GPs. For
Because differences in incidence densities were expected the various GP practices, the first 12-month study
based on gender and age, four subgroups were defined: period was September 2001 to September 2002, and the
men aged 18–40 years, men aged 41–64 years, women last, April 2002 to April 2003 (i.e. all the data were
aged 18–40 years and women aged 41–64 years. First, generated between September 2001 and April 2003).
the numerator file was sorted on gender and age. Then, The number of patients per practice ranged from 2113
within each of the four strata, the inclusion criteria of (solo) to 11,492 (4 GPs), resulting in a total population
25% of the patients were randomly checked. In one of 49,414 patients, of which 50% were male. On average,
practice, the total number of ICPC hits was checked. 66% of the total population was aged 18–64 years and
If the inclusion criteria were not clearly met, the GP thus contributed 32,775 patient-years to the denomi-
was asked for additional information and consensus was nator.
achieved. Fig. 1 shows that within the study year, more than
5000 consultations were registered with an eligible ICPC
2.4. Statistical analyses code. Of the total number of consultations present in the
random sample, 42% was excluded. The most frequent
To estimate the incidence density, we calculated the reasons for exclusion were: the musculoskeletal com-
number of patients with a first consultation for arm, plaint is not located in the arm, neck or shoulder
neck or shoulder complaints in the 12-month study 214/666 (32%), a prior consultation had taken place
period, divided by the sum of person-years at risk. The within the past 6 months 196/666 (29%), or the GP was
95% confidence interval (CI) was computed with the consulted for a complaint other than a musculoskeletal
variance stabilizing square root transformation (Rao, complaint 122/666 (18%). In a few cases, the complaint
1973). This transformation was used to get a symme- could be explained by a trauma or existing systemic or
trical distribution. generalized neurological disease.
Patients contributed person-years to the denominator The number of incident consultations for arm, neck
when they were registered within that year. If an or shoulder was 937/1603 (58%). From the total number
incident arm, neck or shoulder complaint was recorded, of checked hits, the total number of person-years at risk
that person remained at risk for other complaints was 9623.47. This results in a total incidence figure of
(e.g. epicondylitis and carpal tunnel syndrome). Persons 97.4/1000 person-years (95% CI: 91.2–103.7), ranging
becoming 18 or 65 years during the study year from 55.0/1000 person-years (95% CI: 46.0–64.8)
contributed only those months that they were aged 18 for men aged 18–40 years to 140.5/1000 person-years
or 64 years. Of persons becoming 40 years old during the (95% CI: 126.1–155.7) for women aged 41–64 years
study year, the age halfway through the 12-month study (Table 1).
period determined in which age group they were For an average practice with 2350 patients and age
included. Incidence densities were calculated for the and gender distribution according to the Dutch general
total population, the four subgroups (18–40 years and population (CBS, 2006), this results in 147 (95% CI:
male, 18–40 years and female, 41–64 years and male, 138–157) incident cases per year in the age group 18–64
41–64 years and female) and for each ICPC code years. Fig. 2 shows the distribution of the incidence of
separately, also showing the contribution of the region- non-traumatic arm, neck and shoulder complaints by
specific and non-region-specific codes. ICPC code. Clearly, most incident cases are registered
Because the 12-month incidence was based on the under a code specific for arm, neck or shoulder, or a
consultations included in the 25% random sample only, code for a specific complaint/syndrome in that region
we used the sum of person-years at risk of the such as tennis elbow and carpal tunnel syndrome. In
corresponding 25% of the total population. In one total, 77% of the incident cases are registered with a
practice, the complete practice population aged 18–64 region-specific code. In 23% of the cases, non-
years was checked and could be included in its entirety. region-specific codes were used, most frequently L99
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Total number of patients

included in the 13 practices

49,414

Patients aged 18-64 years at risk for

arm, neck and shoulder complaints

32,775

Consultations with the


Not in
ICPC codes included in the study
random
5,021
sample

Excluded consultations
Consultations included in - not musculoskeletal 122
random sample - not arm, neck or shoulder 214
(25% per practice + of 1 practice all - not new/incident 196
consultations with included ICPC - related to trauma 88
codes were checked) - explained by existing disease

(incl. pregnancy) 39

- treatment complication due to

other complaint/disease 7
Incident consultations for
Total excluded consultations 666
non-traumatic arm, neck and shoulder complaints

937

Fig. 1. Flow chart of the incident consultations.

Table 1
Incidence of consultations for non-traumatic arm, neck and shoulder complaints per 1000 person-years

Total (18–64 years) Men (18–40 years) Men (41–64 years) Women (18–40 years) Women (41–64 years)

Incidence 97.4 55.0 97.4 94.9 140.5


95% CIa 91.2–103.7 46.0–64.8 85.6–110.1 82.6–108.1 126.1–155.7
a
95% confidence interval (CI) after square root transformation (10).

(musculoskeletal disease, other), followed by L18 29.5/1000 person-years (L92 and L08) followed by neck
(muscle pain) and N02 (tension headache). complaints 20.6/1000 person-years (L01 and L83) and
The main contributors to the total incidence density epicondylitis (L93) 11.0/1000 person-years. The distri-
figure were: consultations for shoulder complaints bution of ICPC codes is similar for men and women, but
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Fig. 2. Incidence of non-traumatic arm, neck and shoulder complaints per ICPC code for the total population, and for men and women separately.
Incidence per 1000 person-years; s/c ¼ symptoms or complaints; syn ¼ syndrome. The bold vertical line divides the codes into codes specific for arm,
neck or shoulder and non-specific codes used to register arm, neck and shoulder complaints.

neck and wrist and hand complaints are more common headache), L87 (ganglion joint/tendon) and N05
in women. (tingling fingers/feet/toes).

4.2. Strengths and the limitations of this study


4. Discussion
The relevant proportion of complaints registered
4.1. Summary of main findings under non-region-specific codes indicates that com-
plaints of the arm, neck and shoulder are sometimes
In this morbidity study in general practice we difficult to classify in a disease- or location-
calculated a 12-month incident consultation rate of specific complaint, and in case of L18 (muscle pain)
97.4/1000 person-years (95% CI: 91.2–103.7) for and L87 (ganglion joint/tendon), the classification
non-traumatic arm, neck and shoulder complaints. for a specific structure is preferred. Possible reasons
When divided into four subgroups (by age and for this may be: having complaints at more than one site
gender), the incidence ranged from 55.0/1000 person- (Picavet and Schouten, 2003; Walker-Bone et al., 2004b)
years for men aged 18–40 years to 140.5/1000 person- or having referred pain. Further, for some complaints
years for women aged 41–64 years. Overall, this an acute presentation or the need for additional tests can
consultation rate results in 147 (95% CI: 138–157) make it more difficult to establish an accurate diagnosis
incident cases/year for an average-sized GP-practice at the first consultation, and a symptom description may
with 2350 patients. therefore be preferred. Thus, registration under a non-
The main contributors to the total incidence figure region-specific code may have a legitimate reason and is
were: consultations for shoulder complaints 29.5/1000 not necessarily less informative compared to a location-
person-years (L92 and L08) followed by neck com- specific code.
plaints 20.6/1000 person-years (L01 and L83) In the present study, we evaluated incidence rate,
and epicondylitis (L93) 11.0/1000 person-years. Less based on data from day-to-day practice. It is possible,
important, but still relevant contributors are the that GPs may have diagnosed a case differently based on
non-region-specific codes that make up 23% of the the same information, or may have had a preference for
total incidence figure, mainly L99 (musculoskeletal a particular ICPC code. However, when consulting with
disease, other), L18 (muscle pain), N02 (tension a set of symptoms or signs, there is still the option of
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more than one ICPC-code being applicable. One can Although there are no figures to confirm this hypothesis,
register under location, structure or diagnosis we expect that if the GP was consulted for a main
(e.g. elbow symptom/complaint, muscle symptom/com- complaint located elsewhere, concerning, e.g. the sto-
plaint, epicondylitis). Furthermore, a diagnosis as, e.g. mach, and another complaint located at arm, neck or
rotator cuff tendonitis, can be coded under shoulder shoulder, he/she will probably register both complaints
syndrome, which contains several other diagnoses in case active treatment was initiated.
(L92: shoulder syndrome: bursitis of shoulder, frozen Besides, the occurrence of shoulder and neck complaints
shoulder, rotator cuff syndrome, etc.). Therefore, the is often described as being very dynamic and following an
ICPC has limitations when used to study morbidity in episodic course (Croft et al., 1996; Winters et al., 1999;
more detail in this region. Cote et al., 2004). In the present study we define an incident
Whether more detailed registration of diagnoses may case as not having consulted the GP in the 6 months prior
always result in more valid information remains to the consultation date. Before that period, they might of
questionable, especially in shoulder complaints. In an course have consulted for the same complaints.
epidemiological study (Walker-Bone et al., 2004a) on
arm, neck and shoulder complaints in the general 4.3. Comparison with existing literature
population, standardized tests (history taking and
physical examination) were performed in a sample of When comparing our findings to Bot et al. (2005), we
the patient population. This examination resulted from found a similar distribution of the location-specific
a multidisciplinary workshop and demonstrated face incidence with an even higher incidence of shoulder
validity when tested against diagnoses made by clin- complaints. Though the results of both the distribution
icians. Despite the information of history taking and of the location-specific incidence and the total corre-
physical tests, considerable overlap was reported on sponding incidence they found of 66/1000 person years
several diagnoses, especially in shoulder complaints. are in line with our results, we have to point out a few
Much overlap was found in adhesive capsulitis and differences regarding the studied populations and
rotator cuff tendonitis and to a lesser extent bicipital inclusion criteria. In contrast to their study, we excluded
tendonitis, subacromial bursitis and acromioclavicuar trauma and people aged 65 and over and included the
disorder. These diagnoses within the shoulder region may specific code for carpal tunnel syndrome, and added the
frequently coexist, or as others report (Bamji et al., 1996; non-region-specific codes.
Buchbinder et al., 1996; Winters et al., 1997) may be Analogue to others (Hagen et al., 2000; Picavet and
difficult to distinguish. Additionally, a recent systematic Schouten, 2003; Bot et al., 2005), we found that
review on diagnostic evaluation of shoulder pain, found incidence rate (i.e. study consultation rate) increased
no accuracy studies on signs and symptoms related to with age; the higher consultation rate may indicate
rotator cuff disorders in primary care (Luime, 2004). slower recovery at older age, or being less fit.
Because of the less detailed diagnostic level of the ICPC, Prevalence studies on pain in the arm, neck and
we expect most ICPC codes to be used correctly, despite shoulder generally reported higher rates in women
the lack of standardized tests. This, because mainly compared to men, both in the general population
location-specific codes were used for which we expect (Badcock et al., 2003; Picavet and Schouten 2003; Bot
history taking to supply enough labeling information. et al., 2005) and in primary care (Mantyselka et al.,
Furthermore, patients could contribute more than one 2001; Hasselstrom et al., 2002). Similar to Bot et al.
ICPC code to the total number of consultations, which (2005), we also found higher incidence densities in
may result in a slight overestimation if these complaints women compared to men.
are in fact related. When we checked this, we found 29
patients who consulted two or three times for a non- 4.4. Implications for future research or clinical practice
traumatic arm, neck or shoulder complaint within the
12-month registration period. Their contribution of 62 From previous studies, it can be concluded that when
consultations to the total number, all registered under complaints are annoying, people are more likely to seek
different ICPC codes, could in fact be 62 new complaints medical care (Hagen et al., 2000; Cote et al., 2001;
or 29 complaints with other related symptoms, which we Luime et al., 2005). Studies in the general population
cannot distinguish. However, if all these consultations are reported that of the total of people experiencing
all related, this will still result in a total incidence rate of musculoskeletal complaints, 30–45% decided to consult
93.9 per 1000 person-years (95% CI: 87.9–100.2) instead of a GP (Hagen et al., 2000; Picavet and Schouten, 2003).
the 97.4/1000 person-years (95% CI: 91.2–103.7). In the present study, the incidence figures probably
On the other hand, there may be a possibility for present a reasonable estimate of the total of patients
underestimation of the incidence density. If a patient with arm, neck and shoulder complaints with non-
consults for several complaints, these complaints may traumatic onset, for which patients seek medical
not all be registered separately due to time constraints. treatment. This, because at the time of the study, the
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GP was the first care provider to consult in the Acknowledgments


Netherlands in the case of a medical complaint.
Since January 2006, this situation changed. As in We thank the participating GPs and participating
some other countries, a referral is no longer required to patients for the invaluable contribution to the data
consult a physiotherapist for a musculoskeletal com- collection.
plaint. Figures on physiotherapy consultation in the first
6 months of 2006, showed that 26.5% of the patients
consulted a physiotherapist without referral (Swinkels
and Leemrijse, 2006). Appendix 1. The International Classification of Primary
Because patients can now consult a physiotherapist Care (ICPC) codes selected for the present study.
without referral, general practice figures on morbidity (Indicated in bold are the codes specific for neck and upper
no longer give the complete picture of the group of extremity complaints)
patients hindered enough to seek medical care. Because
data on morbidity remains valuable to inform on the
burden of these complaints and the workload of care
providers, adequate registration in physiotherapy prac- ICPC
tice (and other practices of care providers with direct code
access) could fill this gap. L01 Neck symptom/complaint
An indication of the group of patients with these L08 Shoulder symptom/complaint
complaints of arm, neck and shoulder that is referred for L09 Arm symptom/complaint
physiotherapy before direct access is given by Karels L10 Elbow symptom/complaint
et al. (2006). In their cohort study on management in L11 Wrist symptom/complaint
physiotherapy practice they also reported on the L12 Hand/finger symptom/complaint
distribution of the diagnoses. The main contributors L18 Muscle pain
were: radiating neck complaints (72%), rotator cuff L19 Muscle symptom/complaint NOS
syndrome (19%) and epicondylitis (11%). L20 Joint symptom/complaint NOS
In conclusion, non-traumatic complaints of arm, neck L28 Limited function/disability
and shoulder are frequently consulted for in Dutch L29 Musculoskeletal symptom/complaint, other
primary care. In 23%, the complaint is registered under L83 Syndromes related to cervical spine
non-region-specific codes. When estimating morbidity in L87 Ganglion joint/tendon
primary care, based on diagnostic codes, one should be L91 Osteoarthrosis, other
aware of possible underestimation of morbidity and L92 Shoulder syndrome
corresponding workload, when excluding codes not L93 Tennis elbow
specific for that region or diagnosis/disease. L98 Acquired deformity of limb
L99 Musculoskeletal disease, other
N02 Tension headache
N05 Tingling fingers/feet/toes
Contributors
N06 Sensation disturbance, other
N18 Paralysis/weakness
All authors declare that they participated in the
N93 Carpal tunnel syndrome
writing and editing of the manuscript and that they have
A01 Pain, general/multiple sites
seen and approved the final version.
A28 Limited function/disability NOS
A29 General symptom/complaint, other
A99 Disease/condition of unspecified
Funding nature/site
K92 Other arterial obstruction/peripheral
Internal funding of Erasmus MC (Revolving Fund). (includes Raynaud)
The funder had no role in the study design, data L27 Fear of musculoskeletal disease, other
collection, analysis, interpretation of results, writing the N28 Limited function/disability (N)
report or in submitting the paper. N29 Neurological symptom/complaint, other
N99 Neurological disease, other
P75 Somatization disorder
Conflict of interest Z05 Work problem
NOS: not otherwise specified.
All authors declare that they have no conflict of Remark: Only incident consultations for a non-traumatic complaint of
interest. arm, neck or shoulder that fulfiled the inclusion criteria, were included.
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