Updated Trends in Resource Utilization for Active Duty Service Members Presenting With Low Back Pain from 2017-2018 — MHSRS 2021

Yuan X, Pav V, Cohen S, Pasquina P, Hager N, Isaacson B

Abstract submitted to Military Health System Research Symposium 2021

Low back pain (LBP) is both the leading cause of disability and most common reason for primary care visits, amounting to approximately $88 billion in direct and indirect costs of health care spending. Among active-duty service members (ADSM) of the United States Armed Forces, LBP and other back problems have accounted for the most medical encounters every year for the past decade. Clinical categories of LBP diagnoses can manifest as axial, radicular, or other pain. LBP is further classified by duration of symptoms as acute (LBP < 1 month), subacute (1-3 months), or chronic (> 3 months). This retrospective study of ADSM newly presenting with LBP in Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 sought to classify LBP by clinical category and duration, and record medical encounters for LBP care over two years of follow-up, including outpatient visits, radiology, physical therapy (PT), spine surgeries, and interventional pain procedures, to assess impact on readiness, health care costs, and resource utilization. This is the first LBP study to date to include MHS GENESIS data and examine associated health care costs and resource utilization for the two years leading up to the COVID-19 pandemic.