10 Ways To Treat Musculoskeletal Pain Without Surgery

One of the most common types of chronic pain is musculoskeletal pain, which occurs when your soft tissues (ligaments, muscles, or tendons) get injured. It ranges from a sharp jabbing sensation to dull and lingering pain.

Natural Treatment For Musculoskeletal Disorder

Nowadays many common pathologies of the musculoskeletal system are misdiagnosed and there are some reasons behind this. Firstly, imaging such as MRIs and x-rays are being overly used, despite practice guidelines advocating against their routine use. Secondly, surgery is chosen as a first-line treatment way too often, in spite of various evidence showing its ineffective.

Furthermore, potent analgesics are often prescribed too early or inappropriately, hampering the recovery process.

That is why there is a growing need for a basic guideline on the treatment procedures of musculoskeletal pain. Your doctor may suggest any one or a combination of these treatments.

1. Proper diagnosis – Musculoskeletal pain should always be looked at in a biopsychosocial framework. Assessing physical as well as psychosocial factors are a must, including depression, anxiety, fear of movement, and the patient’s expectation pattern.

2. Patient-specific treatments – Once the reasons are found and the musculoskeletal pain is correctly diagnosed, your doctor must come up with a treatment plan that works only for you. Managing the pain is important, but sometimes it can be complicated when different patients show different symptoms. This is the first and foremost reason why no single approach works for everyone.

3. Discourage routine radiographic imaging – Although this point is obviously not a treatment, sometimes overuse of radiography can lead to a whole new set of problems. Unless your condition is serious, inappropriate use of imaging can cause harm in several ways. Such as :

When you or your health care providers misinterpret the result of an imaging procedure.
Heavy and prolonged exposure to radiation can cause some serious and irreversible damage to your body.

4. Physical assessment – This may include neurological screening tests, mobility assessment, or muscle strength tests. However, special physical assessments have been proven to be of limited value in various cases. Nonetheless, there are some special physical tests that still have a high clinical value where pain management is a concern.

5. Rehabilitation – The mental health of a patient suffering from musculoskeletal pain is a concern too. Possible dissatisfaction or mental breakdowns should never be disregarded. While in the rehab process, the patient’s mental progress should be evaluated using validated outcomes only.

6. Dig deep into your treatment plan – Before you go ahead with any treatment, basic knowledge of pain management is very important. It can help in understanding exactly what kind of treatment you are getting into.

7. Regular exercise – Normal physical activity, aerobic exercises, or yoga can be helpful in managing the pain to a great extent. Moving your body will help the blood wash out the toxins from your body more efficiently.

8. Therapy – When manual therapy is considered, it should only be done under the observation of a professional physiotherapist.

9. Non-surgical treatments – The number of surgeries for musculoskeletal pain is still going up in spite of numerous evidence showing its ineffective as a first-line treatment. So, non-surgical treatments such as a healthy diet or some medications are recommended before exploring the surgical options.

10. Adaptation of normal life – Your treatment should include methods to facilitate the way to a normal life. This is ideally done in a multidisciplinary framework involving your family, friends, health care providers, and also your employer in some cases.