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Girls with insidious onset of knee pain less likely to seek medical care
In their survey of adolescents, researchers of this study found that girls with an insidious onset of knee pain were less likely than those with traumatic onset to get medical care.
“Females with insidious onset of knee pain do not seek medical care as often as those with traumatic onset and adolescents of both genders with insidious onset are less likely to be under medical treatment,” the researchers wrote in their study. “These findings are important as knee pain with insidious onset has similar consequences as knee pain with traumatic onset regarding pain severity, pain duration and reductions in health-related quality of life.”
The investigators sent an online questionnaire to 2,846 adolescents at four schools. Of those participants, 504 reported knee pain that occurred at least monthly. Most of the participants of the study were women with a median age of 17 years.
Almost 70% of respondents had an insidious onset of pain. Overall, 59% of adolescents surveyed sought medical care for their knee pain and 18% were currently being treated, according to the abstract.
The adolescents cited factors such as duration of pain, intensity of pain and lower EuroQol 5-D scores as reasons to seek medical care. “Females with traumatic onset of knee pain and increased pain severity were more likely to be undergoing medical treatment,” the researchers wrote in their abstract. A combination of exercise and orthotics was prescribed in most cases.
Disclosure: The authors have no relevant financial disclosures.