Affecting one in two adults, musculoskeletal disorders are one of the most common chronic pain conditions in the US.
The severity can range from mild to completely disabling, causing a wide range of issues across the entire body (comprising the muscles, joints, ligaments, tendons, and nerves). These issues typically cause pain and/or mobility and dexterity issues, and there’s often no single cause.
While musculoskeletal disorders can be a complex issue to fix, there are plenty of options to explore. In this article, you’ll learn of the most promising lines of treatment.
Common Treatments
The mainline treatment for chronic pain conditions usually includes a mixture of pain medication, physical therapy, and lifestyle changes. Depending on the specific condition (be it arthritis, tendinitis, general lower back pain, and more), treatment will be weighted more or less to one of those areas.
NSAIDs like ibuprofen are often used to reduce the inflammation commonly associated with this umbrella of disorders, and these are typically utilized across the board regardless of the cause of the pain.
So far as a curative practice, physical therapy is the main form of treatment. By using a wide variety of stretching and strengthening techniques and sometimes soft tissue massaging, the goal is to help sufferers reduce discomfort and regain functionality in the affected area.
Lifestyle factors such as weight and lack of exercise can also be implicated in the development and progression of chronic pain; ensuring to eat a healthy, well-balanced diet, as well as engaging in some form of basic physical exercise each day, is recommended for most musculoskeletal disorders.
In extreme cases, surgery may be warranted. Torn tendons and ligaments sometimes need to be surgically repaired, and where osteoarthritis is concerned, joints that have degraded too far may need to be replaced with a titanium prosthetic. In many cases, though, symptoms can be managed before they get to the point of needing surgery.
New Interventions
Alongside traditional treatments, several new pieces of technology have emerged.
Stem cell therapy is one such area: the idea is to use the patient’s own stem cells to boost the body’s ability to repair damaged tissue. Given that stem cells have the ability to change and adapt their purpose to suit the situation, they potentially represent a very versatile method for helping the body repair itself in cases where physiotherapy alone is providing slow progress.
Softwave Therapy is another new and innovative method. It uses a special machine to send acoustic waves into the body’s tissues, helping to stimulate blood flow and promote faster, deeper recovery. There’s also low-level laser therapy (LLLT for short) which again, works by penetrating deep into the affected tissue to help it heal.
Wrapping Up
Musculoskeletal disorders are a complex beast, with no one-size-fits-all approach to treatment. The cause is often multifactorial, and so requires a talented, multidisciplinary team of experts to guide the patient into optimal health. Hopefully, this brief article provided you with a starting point for researching remedies for your own issues or those of a loved one.
