Development of Persistent Musculoskeletal Pain in the Military: The Prediction of Outcomes, Utilization, and Readiness after Surgery (POURS) Cohort for Knee and Shoulder

Chronic and persistent pain after orthopaedic injury is one of the primary barriers to readiness across all military services. Currently, the ability to accurately predict which military service members will develop chronic and persistent pain conditions after surgery for an orthopaedic injury is lacking. This information will allow the medical team to intervene early, or perhaps reconsider surgical options for those who will be known to have poor outcomes. This study is focused on current active duty military service members. It is imperative that we understand how to minimize lost work days and disability in these specific beneficiaries. Even modest reductions in persistent pain and disability will improve patient-centered outcomes and reduce cost for the Department of Defense.

This study will develop and validate an innovative predictive framework to provide clinical point-of-care algorithms to accurately identify 12-month outcomes related to military readiness, clinical outcomes, and healthcare utilization to improve prediction accuracy of who will do well post-surgery and who will not.