Musculoskeletal Pain
Anyone can experience musculoskeletal pain. It is most often caused by an injury to the bones, joints, muscles, tendons, ligaments, or nerves. Jerking movements, car accidents, falls, fractures, sprains, dislocations, and direct blows to the muscle can cause this.
Symptoms of Musculoskeletal Pain
People who suffer from musculoskeletal pain may have varying pain levels, but most often everyone describes it as their whole body aching.
Other symptoms include:
- Twitching/burning muscles
- Muscles feeling as though they’ve been overworked or pulled
- Pain
- Fatigue
- Sleep disturbances
Symptoms vary from person to person but are often very similar.
Causes of Musculoskeletal Pain
Though symptoms may be all very similar, causes of musculoskeletal pain can be many different things. Most often, it is caused by normal wear and tear from strenuous daily activities. Other times, the pain can be caused by direct trauma to an area such as auto accidents, fractures, falls, dislocations, sprains, jerking movements, or direct blows to the muscle.
Sometimes, poor posture or body mechanics may cause spinal alignment problems and muscle shortening which can eventually cause other muscles to become painful due to being misused. There are quite a few other causes of the pain such as being immobilized, repetitive movements, postural strain, and overuse of the muscle.
Diagnosis and Treatment of Musculoskeletal Pain
By learning your complete medical history and if there were any prior accidents that may have caused the pain to start will help your doctor better diagnose you. A physical examination will be conducted shortly after to determine if there are any other underlying illnesses that could be causing the pain. Your doctor will want to know answers to questions such as when the pain started, where it’s felt, and if it’s constant or fleeting.
If diagnosed with musculoskeletal pain, there are fortunately many treatments to help speed up the recovery process. A combination of both manual therapy and medication can help treat the pain depending on your symptoms.
Some treatments include:
- Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medication to ease pain and inflammation
- Sleep aids such as Ambien, Lunesta, and Rozerem
- Medication to increase the body’s level of serotonin and norepinephrine (neurotransmitters) that help with sleep, immune system function, and pain for people with Fibromyalgia
These medications are particularly common treatments, however, based on severity your doctor may insist on other treatments such as chiropractic care, physical therapy, muscle strengthening exercise and stretches, or injections with anti-inflammatory or anesthetic in the most painful areas.