Introduction.

Taking into account the current demographic and epidemiological changes, it is important that physical therapy is interested in knowing the situation of chronic diseases whose prevalence is increasing, such as musculoskeletal diseases.

Objective.

To describe the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of the population treated in a low-complexity physiotherapy care-teaching center in Costa Rica.

Methods.

An observational, descriptive, and retrospective study was conducted based on the analysis of the care records from a low-complexity physiotherapy care-teaching center collected between the years 2012 and 2022, excluding the year 2020 due to the COVID-19 health contingency. Two independent databases containing sociodemographic information, clinical diagnoses (ICD-10) and follow-up data from physiotherapy sessions performed during the study period were analyzed. The statistical analysis was descriptive, using absolute and relative frequencies for qualitative variables, and measures of central tendency and dispersion for quantitative variables.

Results.

The records of 2299 patients with a mean age of 35.3 (±13.85) years were analyzed; 56% were women. The patients belonged to the university community and were mainly students (46%) and people with administrative positions (41%). Muscle contracture was the most frequent diagnosis, with differences according to occupation. A trend towards a reduction in the number of sessions provided to each person and an increase in the use of kinesitherapy as the main therapeutic method was observed in the last years studied.

Conclusions.

The center treated mostly women, and non-traumatic musculoskeletal conditions were the most frequent. A transition towards care techniques that promote the active participation of the patient (kinesitherapy and self-care instructions) was evident. The absenteeism rate was minimal in the first scheduled session and increased in the last one.

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