Musculoskeletal pains are mostly short-term and resolve spontaneously.
Non-pharmacological therapies constitute the first-line treament and they are combined, if needed, with pharmacotherapy.
In drug treatment, paracetamol and topical and oral nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are preferred.
Principles
Musculoskeletal pain is a common cause for a visit to a general practitioner, while the majority of cases of ordinary pain can also be treated without the doctor's help, i.e. by rest, OTC drugs or exercise.
Avoidance of physical activity is seldom necessary, but in trauma and in many strain-induced pain conditions (e.g. various types of tendinitis), avoiding exertion may be of help for a start.
Non-pharmacological interventions (e.g. exercise and therapeutic exercise) form the basis of treatment.
In the initial treatment for musculoskeletal injury (especially for exercise-related injury), a functional principle is PEACE (Protect-Elevate-Avoid anti-inflammatory modalities-Compress-Educate), and in the follow-up treatment, LOVE (Load-Optimism-Vascularisation-Exercise).
In other than high-risk patients the cost-effectiveness of COX-2-selective anti-inflammatory drugs is poor.
In prolonged musculoskeletal pain, the factors causing and maintaining the pain, including the loading factors and ergonomics at work, should be assessed.
In chronic musculoskeletal pain, a thorough assessment by occupational health care with possible interventions and multidisciplinary rehabilitation may be advantageous.
Gradually increasing therapeutic exercise reduces pain and improves functional capacity in prolonged and chronic low back pain Low Back Pain
Increasing of physical activity, and exercises that increase muscular strength, may also be beneficial in the treatment of neck pain Exercises for Mechanical Neck Disorders.
Instead of passive treatment methods, physiotherapeutic expertise should be utilized for the evaluation of functional capacity, for activating the patient and for guidance of therapeutic exercise.
In inflammatory rheumatic disease, in pain caused by injury, or in acute back pain, paracetamol or an NSAID is in most cases the most sensible therapy.
NSAIDs are effective in acute cases of musculoskeletal pain.
They are not equally beneficial in long-term musculoskeletal pain, such as osteoarthritis, where the adverse effects may be emphasised. NSAIDs may, however, be used in the treatment of arthosis, if paracetamol does not provide sufficient effect.
NSAIDs are not recommended in the long-term treatment of chronic low back or neck pain.
Avoid oral NSAIDs in patients with a risk of gastrointestinal tract bleeding or with anticoagulant therapy.
The use of COX-2-selective drugs may be justifiable in cases where the use of non-selective NSAIDs is associated with an increased risk of gastrointestinal haemorrhage. The coxibs are not general analgesics to be used, for example, for acute low back pain or sports injuries.
Avoid all NSAIDs in patients with an arterial disease or its risk factors.
Less potent opioids (e.g. codeine and tramadol) can be tried in prolonged low back pain and osteoarthritis, if NSAIDs or paracetamol do not provide sufficient pain relief. Side effects limit the use of opioids, which should be as short-term as possible. The risk of adverse interactions with, for example, antidepressants must be taken into account.
For tricyclic antidepressants there is evidence of efficacy in fibromyalgia (e.g. amitriptyline, initially 10 to 25 mg daily, with a maintenance dose of 25 to 150 mg daily, is also used in other chronic pain conditions).Duloxetine (30-60 mg/day), milnacipran (50-100 mg/day), pregabalin (25-300 mg/day) and gabapentin (300-1 200 mg/day) may also be tried for fibromyalgia Fibromyalgia.
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