Suffering from musculoskeletal pain can be challenging to live with. Getting an accurate diagnosis can be the key to finding the correct treatment. Here, we explore what musculoskeletal pain is, what causes it, and how reaching out to a doctor can help.
What is musculoskeletal pain?
Musculoskeletal pain can occur as part of many conditions (such as fibromyalgia), in conjunction with other symptoms. However, simply put, musculoskeletal pain is pain that specifically impacts your bones and muscles. It can also affect your tendons and ligaments.
What causes musculoskeletal pain?
There can be many different causes of this kind of pain. It might be due to harm to your muscle tissue. This can be caused by everyday actions building slowly over time until the damage occurs. Sudden movements may also cause musculoskeletal pain. This can be especially prevalent if you play sports. You may also find that it can be the result of trauma to a specific part of your body, such as if you are in an accident with your car, or if you fall down. It can even happen if you sprain your ankle or wrist, or fracture or dislocate a bone.
Other causes you can encounter
Even if you are not in an accident or suffer from any obvious trauma, you may have musculoskeletal pain. It can occur due to something as simple as poor posture resulting in strain, or repetitive stress injuries. It may even be caused by being unable to move for long periods of time, or your muscles being misused.
How musculoskeletal pain feels
There is no “one way” for musculoskeletal pain to impact everyone, due the different ways it can be caused and the different areas of the body it can impact. You may feel an ache in your entire body, regardless of the site of your initial injury or overuse. Or you may feel as though you have pulled a muscle, or feel a burning sensation.
Most commonly, you might feel localised or broad pain, struggle to sleep peacefully, or else feel very fatigued.
Finding out the cause of your musculoskeletal pain can be difficult. If you want more advice on musculoskeletal pain including diagnosis and treatment options from a musculoskeletal pain doctor, London-based Dr. Stephanie Barrett can help. Get in touch to find out more.
