PROFILE OF MUSCULOSKELETAL PAIN IN NEUROLOGY OUTPATIENT CLINIC AT DR.

KARIADI HOSPITAL SEMARANG

Maria Belladonna*, Dani Rahmawati** * Resident, ** Teaching Staff, Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine Diponegoro University / dr. Kariadi Hospital, Semarang BACKGROUNDS Musculoskeletal pain includes pain in bones, muscles, joints, tendons, ligaments, or surrounding structures. More people worldwide experience musculoskeletal pain than any other category of pain. However the epidemiology data in Indonesia is still lacking. OBJECTIVE To determine prevalence and characteristics of musculoskeletal pain. METHODS This was a descriptive study of patients with musculoskeletal pain who visited Neurology Outpatient Clinic at dr. Kariadi Hospital Semarang, from July 1st - September 30th 2010. The datas were obtained from medical records, including age, sex, job, VAS (Visual Analogue Scale), diagnosis, and treatment. Descriptive analysis was done using SPSS 15.0 for Windows. RESULTS Out of 870 patients with pain who visited Neurology Outpatient Clinic, 758 patients (87.12%) were diagnosed as musculoskeletal pain, consisted of 289 (38.13%) males and 469 (61.87%) females, which 218 were new cases. Most patients were from age group of 50-59 years (37.20%) and the main jobs were housewives (39.39%) and pensioners (24.24%). Moderate pain (VAS 4-6) was reported by 80.30% patients. Highest prevalence were 31.0 % for osteoarthritis, 28.63% for back pain, and 14.78% for carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). Ratio of CTS in male and female were 1 : 3. Osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, shoulder pain, and plantar fasciitis were about two times more common in women than in men. Back pain and fibromyalgia were almost in the same ratio between male and female. The treatments given varied from NSAIDs (most of patients), steroids, muscle relaxants, anticonvulsants, antidepressants, glucosamins, neurotrophic vitamins, and also physical therapies.

CONCLUSIONS Musculoskeletal pain is very common in the adults and elderly. In this hospital-based study, osteoarthritis was the leading cause. The characteristics of musculoskeletal pain vary based on age or sex pattern, and most are of moderate intensity.