Experience of Chronic (Non-malignant) Musculoskeletal Pain of French Adolescent and Young Adult: a Qualitative Research With Their Physicians and Non-medical Practitioners

The purpose of this study is to explore the perspectives of health professionals on chronic (non-malignant) musculoskeletal pain in adolescence and young adulthood. The prevalence of this pain symptom is rising for ten years, and most of the time the diagnosis is complex. Health professionals have to differentiate between the continuing activity of a somatic problem, some painful sequelae, a low threshold for the perception of pain, and psychological symptoms with somatic expression. Diagnosis in this case takes time, and is a matter of trained specialists. No protocol exists to assess the sub-clinical symptoms which will be used to help doing this complex task.

This qualitative study will elicit the perspectives of trained specialists on this diagnosis: how do they deal with these patients? What signs and symptoms helps them? The results will present their clinical experiences. The overall goal is to construct the first chronic musculoskeletal pain multidimensional scale that will help the practitioners with this complex diagnosis.

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Key information

Conditions

Chronic (Non-malignant) Musculoskeletal Pain Behavior Bronchial Diseases Bronchiolitis Bronchiolitis Obliterans Bronchiolitis Obliterans Syndrome Bronchitis Graft vs Host Disease Immune System Diseases Lung Diseases Lung Diseases, Obstructive Muscular Diseases Musculoskeletal Diseases Musculoskeletal Pain Neurologic Manifestations Organizing Pneumonia Pain Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms Respiratory Tract Diseases Signs and Symptoms

Age range

25 year–70 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Observational

Primary location

Cochin hospital, Paris, France

About this study

Recent research suggests that musculoskeletal pain may be the most common complaint for which children are referred to a pediatric rheumatologist and is present in approximately 50% of all new patients. A small percentage of these patients will be diagnosed with a form of juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), which is marked by clinically significant pain. A larger percentage will be diagnosed with a musculoskeletal pain syndrome, that approximately 25% of them are chronic and defined as > = 3 months. The chronic pain symptom is a subjective one that professionals have to precise its outlines in term of semiology, nature and efficacity of past treatments, medical and family backgrounds. The professional then will have to pinpoint a diagnosis, while assessing the consequences of the pain and treating it.

Most of the time this task is a complex one and professionals have to build their diagnostic on a body of clinical, paraclinical and more social, familial and psychological evidences. No clear protocol exists to help the professionals with differentiating the continuing activity of a somatic problem, some painful sequelae, a low threshold for the perception of pain, and psychological symptoms with somatic expression. This diagnostic process is lying on sub-clinical symptoms that investigators have to elicit in order to help professionals to better support their patients.

This qualitative study will explore the daily clinical experience of the health professionals involved in the care of adolescents suffering from chronic musculoskeletal pain. Semi-structured interviews will be analyzed with a phenomenological approach (interpretative phenomenological analysis). The rich phenomenological description will be the first step of a more ambitious project of constructing a multidimensional scale that will help the practitioners with this complex diagnosis.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

Health care professionals working with the French National Reference in Center Pediatric Rheumatology and Inflammatory Diseases
Professional experiences on the care of chronic musculoskeletal pain

Exclusion criteria

Refusal to participate in the study

Treatment and study plan

semi-structured interviews

Other

Semi-structured face to face or telephone interviews with an open-ended approach. Duration: about 45 minutes. Audio-recorded. Exploration of the experience of taking care of the suffering adolescents.

Primary outcomes

Qualitative description of the experience of health professionals faced to adolescents consulting for chronic (non-malignant) musculoskeletal pain

Time frame: 1 day

The data collection will consist in health professionals' interviews. All the content of the interviews will be included in the data analysis. The interviews will contain the deepest experience of these professionals in their confrontation of adolescents who present chronic musculoskeletal pain.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris

Other

Collaborators

URC-CIC Paris Descartes Necker Cochin

Registry information

Acronym: DMS-AJA

Important dates

Study start: 2017
Primary completion: 2018
Study completion: 2018
First posted: May 31, 2017
Registry last updated: Nov 20, 2025

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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