Official Statistics

Musculoskeletal health profile: statistical commentary, April 2025

Published 1 April 2025

Applies to England

What’s new

The musculoskeletal (MSK) health profile on the Fingertips platform has been updated. The following indicators, for people aged 16 and over, have been added based on the 2024 GP Patient Survey (GPPS):

• percentage self-reporting a long-term MSK problem (2024 version)
• percentage reporting a long-term MSK problem and at least one other long-term condition (2024 version)
• odds of self-reported mental health conditions in people with an MSK condition compared with those without an MSK condition (odds ratio) (2024 version)

These are new indicators due to a change in the question on the GPPS making the 2024 data not comparable with previous years.

Data is provided for England, regions, and upper and lower tier local authorities. England-level inequality breakdowns by index of multiple deprivation, age, sex, ethnic group, working status, sexuality and religion have also been added.

Introduction

MSK conditions are an important cause of pain and disability in England and account for one of the highest causes of sickness absence and productivity loss.

The MSK health profile provides meaningful data to enable the commissioning of high-value MSK services. MSK data is essential for understanding the health needs of local populations, the number of people accessing services, the cost of services and the outcomes services deliver.

The data published in this update shows the percentage of people with an MSK health condition and the relationship between MSK and mental health. 

Main findings

This update shows:

• the prevalence of people aged 16 and over self-reporting a long-term MSK condition was 17.9% in 2024
• the prevalence of self-reported MSK conditions was lower in males (15.6%) than in females (20.0%)
• the prevalence of self-reported MSK conditions was higher than the England average among those from the White English, Welsh, Scottish, Northern Irish or British ethnic group (21.0%), the White Irish ethnic group (20.9%) and the Black Caribbean ethnic group (20.2%) (see figure 1)
• the prevalence of people self-reporting at least 2 long-term conditions, at least one of which is MSK related, was 13.4% in 2024
• the prevalence of self-reported mental health conditions was higher in people with a long-term MSK condition than in people without. The odds ratio of self-reporting a mental health condition among people with an MSK condition compared to those without an MSK condition was 1.5 in 2024 (the odds ratio quantifies the difference in prevalence of mental health conditions between those with an MSK condition and those without an MSK condition. An odds ratio higher than 1 means the prevalence is higher among those with an MSK condition than in those with no MSK condition)
• the odds ratio was highest for those of a younger age at 3.8 for those aged 16 to 24 compared with 1.2 for those aged 85 or over
• for all 3 updated indicators there are inequalities by level of area deprivation. Those in the most deprived decile were more likely to report a long-term MSK problem and an MSK problem with at least one other long-term condition. Deprived areas also had a greater difference in prevalence of mental health conditions between those with an MSK condition and those without (a higher odds ratio)

Figure 1: percentage self-reporting a long-term MSK problem (2024 version), age 16 and over, England, 2024

Source: calculated by OHID Population Health Analysis (PHA) team using data from NHS England GPPS 2024.

For enquiries or feedback relating to the MSK health profile, please contact pha-ohid@dhsc.gov.uk.

Methodological changes

There have been changes to the GPPS questionnaire which have resulted in a lack of comparability with the previously published back series. 

The long-term health question regarding MSK conditions was changed between the 2023 and 2024 surveys.  The 2023 GPPS asked whether respondents had ‘arthritis or ongoing problem with back or joints’.  In the 2024 survey this question was changed to whether respondents had a ‘joint problem, such as arthritis’.  Importantly, the change removed any mention of back pain.  For this reason, the measures in this report have been published as new indicators in the MSK health profile, labelled as ‘2024 version’, and are not comparable with the previously published versions.

There will also be a change to the question in the 2025 GPPS to whether respondents had ‘arthritis or problem with back or joints’.  This change has been informed by consultation with MSK practitioners and will require creation of new indicators which will not be comparable with either the 2024 or 2023 and earlier values.