Goo Mi-Ran, Jun Deok-Hoon, Lee Do-Youn
Department of Physical Therapy, Kyungwoon University, Gumi-si 39160, Republic of Korea.
Department of Physical Therapy, Daegu University, Gyeongsan-si 38453, Republic of Korea.
Medicina (Kaunas). 2025 Apr 23;61(5):782. doi: 10.3390/medicina61050782.
: Low back pain (LBP) is a highly prevalent musculoskeletal condition that frequently recurs, leading to increased healthcare utilization and socioeconomic burden. While short-term management strategies are well-documented, long-term recurrence patterns remain insufficiently studied. This study aims to describe the long-term recurrence patterns and healthcare utilization associated with LBP in a nationwide cohort over a 17-year period. : This descriptive, retrospective longitudinal cohort study utilized data from the Korean National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) database (2002-2018). We included 3,086,665 patients who sought medical care for LBP (ICD-10 code M54.5) at least once in 2010. Patients with a history of disability rating assessments were excluded. The primary outcomes included the number of LBP episodes, episode duration, recurrence patterns, and changes in healthcare utilization. We assessed the number of healthcare visits per episode and the interval between episodes over time. : Among the study population, 79.4% experienced recurrent LBP, with an average of 5.0 ± 4.9 episodes per patient. Recurrence rates increased with each episode. In addition, episode duration lengthened, and intervals between episodes shortened. Healthcare utilization also increased, with patients requiring more visits per episode over time. The demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of the LBP patients in our sample were also described. : In this population-based sample, LBP follows a progressive course, with increasing episode frequency, prolonged duration, and escalating healthcare utilization over time. These findings highlight the need for early intensive management and long-term follow-up strategies to mitigate the growing burden of recurrent LBP on individuals and healthcare systems.
腰痛（LBP）是一种非常普遍的肌肉骨骼疾病，经常复发，导致医疗保健利用率增加和社会经济负担加重。虽然短期管理策略有充分的文献记载，但长期复发模式仍研究不足。本研究旨在描述在17年期间全国队列中与腰痛相关的长期复发模式和医疗保健利用率。：这项描述性、回顾性纵向队列研究利用了韩国国民健康保险服务（NHIS）数据库（2002 - 2018年）的数据。我们纳入了2010年至少因腰痛（国际疾病分类第十版代码M54.5）寻求过一次医疗护理的3,086,665名患者。有残疾评级评估史的患者被排除。主要结局包括腰痛发作次数、发作持续时间、复发模式以及医疗保健利用率的变化。我们评估了每次发作的医疗就诊次数以及随时间推移发作之间的间隔。：在研究人群中，79.4%经历过复发性腰痛，每位患者平均发作5.0 ± 4.9次。复发率随每次发作而增加。此外，发作持续时间延长，发作之间的间隔缩短。医疗保健利用率也增加，随着时间的推移，患者每次发作需要更多的就诊次数。我们还描述了样本中腰痛患者的人口统计学和社会经济特征。：在这个基于人群的样本中，腰痛呈渐进性病程，随着时间的推移发作频率增加、持续时间延长且医疗保健利用率不断上升。这些发现凸显了需要早期强化管理和长期随访策略，以减轻复发性腰痛对个人和医疗保健系统日益增加的负担。
