Self-reported characteristics of people seeking primary care physiotherapy in Denmark: A cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: Limited knowledge exists on the self-reported characteristics of patients seeking primary care physiotherapy in Denmark.

OBJECTIVES: To describe primary symptom site, co-occurrent pain sites, pain intensity, symptom duration, and number of symptom episodes in patients seeking primary care physiotherapy using patient-reported data.

METHODS: Cross-sectional study of patients seeking primary care physiotherapy within a nationwide network of clinics in Denmark (FysioDanmark ® ). Data from the FysioDanmark ® clinical database with patient-reported information obtained from questionnaires distributed to patients prior to their first consultation were used. This included primary symptom site, co-occurrent pain sites, pain intensity (0-10 numeric rating scale), symptom duration, and number of symptom episodes.

RESULTS: Data from 61,097 patients (57% female) aged 42 years (interquartile range 29-53) and 63,566 first visits were included. The most common reasons for seeking care were back- (22.9%), non-specific- (19.8%) and shoulder symptoms (15.9%). The majority of patients (89.4%) reported symptoms lasting longer than 7 days, and many experienced recurrent episodes. Median pain intensity ranged from 3 to 5 across primary symptom sites and age groups. In general, females reported higher pain intensity than males.

CONCLUSION: Danish patients seeking primary care physiotherapy most commonly presented with back, non-specific, and shoulder symptoms, with mild-to-moderate pain lasting longer than 7 days, and many with recurrent episodes.