Musculoskeletal Pain

Musculoskeletal pain is as the notion suggests a type of pain, which primarily impacts bones, muscles, tendons and ligaments. The causes behind this type of pain are quite different. The primary source of this pain is muscle tissue damage that can result from any daily activities, or injuries and damages. This pain can also be caused by repetitive movements or long periods of inactivity, resulting in increased wear of muscles or lack of muscle tonus. Lack of diversity in movements and extreme use of bones and muscles are what usually causes musculoskeletal pain.

When a part of the body is injured, the most common physical reaction is the tightening of the damaged area, decreasing the blood flow in the region. When pain reaction takes place, it can by itself trigger the tightening reaction of the area resulting in a tension-pain cycle that is quite hard to deal with. Stress, bodily inactivity and poor posture can result in muscle tension that is often followed by pain. Pain causes the region to be inactive and thus contributes to tension, which then causes pain and so on.

Quite often people suffering from musculoskeletal pain report that their entire body is aching. The muscle tissue is said to be like it was overused or pulled strongly. Burning and twitching was also reported. The situation varies between people but the most common things reported are:

• Pain
• Fatigue
• Sleep dysfunctions

When diagnosing this type of pain your physician will likely conduct a detailed physical examination and read through your medical history. There may be additional examinations required to confirm the results obtained from the overall check.

According to the severity of musculoskeletal pain different methods of treatment can be employed. For milder conditions manual therapy techniques and special exercises have shown much effectiveness. In cases of acute musculoskeletal pain, these methods can be used as an addition to increase recovery rates.

In chronic musculoskeletal pain exercise is a very important and effective technique. Alignment issues can remain to be a problem if the muscular tissue is not treated in complex as well. Quite often pain in the alignments can be caused by the improper state of the muscles or general body mechanics.

It is highly important to stretch and strengthen the muscles during exercise treatment. By only strengthening the muscles without stretching activity you risk to further shorten the muscle which will result in more pain.  However strengthening the muscles is also important because you thus reduce the likelihood of the muscle being inactive and causing pain. Inactivity and pain are quite effectively eliminated by aerobic exercises involving all of your body parts, which stimulate the blood circulation and help overcome the pain-tension cycle. This also can provide the benefit of improving your overall health and body strength.

Those who have musculoskeletal pain like fibromyalgia, are often prescribed with drugs that affect serotonin and norepinephrine levels in the brain (neurotransmitters that control pain, sleep, and the activity of immune system function). These include such sleep aids as Ambien, clonazepam, and trazadone.