Musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions affect approximately 1.71 billion people worldwide and can affect your joints, bones and muscles and sometimes associated tissues such as your nerves.
Musculoskeletal conditions include conditions that affect:
- joints, such as osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, gout, spondyloarthritis;
- bones, such as osteoporosis, osteopenia and associated fragility fractures, traumatic fractures;
- muscles, such as sarcopenia;
- multiple body areas or systems, such as regional (e.g. back and neck pain) and widespread (e.g. fibromyalgia) pain conditions, inflammatory diseases such as connective tissue diseases and vasculitis that have musculoskeletal manifestations, for example, systemic lupus erythematosus, or amputation as a result of disease or trauma.
Our work environment can impact our health too. Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSD) are conditions in which the work environment and performance of work contribute significantly to the condition; and/or the condition is made worse or persists longer due to work conditions
WMSD associated with work patterns can include fixed or constrained body positions or continual repetition of movements.
What Are the Symptoms of Musculoskeletal Pain?
People with musculoskeletal pain sometimes complain that their entire bodies ache. Their muscles may feel like they have been pulled or overworked. Sometimes, the muscles twitch or burn. Symptoms vary from person to person, but the common symptoms are:
- Aching and stiffness.
- Burning sensations in the muscles.
- Muscle twitches.
- Pain that worsens with movement.
- Sleep disturbances.
In order to get a better understanding of what is going on, an X-ray can shed light on a condition. You may have already got a GP referral for an X-ray but you are then put on a waiting list.
To quickly diagnose and privately treat MSK conditions, we would recommend an assessment by a practitioner which can then refer you to an x-ray service quickly and effectively, with no waiting lists.
