The journey through chronic pain management (Musculoskeletal)

Articular pains are one of the most common health concerns among people 65 and older. They can be defined as pains related to a disorder in one of the structures of the joint: the cartilage, the subchondral bone, the joint capsule, the synovial membrane, menisci, tendons, ligaments, and periarticular muscles. Joint disorders associated with pain can have either an inflammatory, a traumatic, or a degenerative origin. There are more than 150 diseases and progressive syndromes that affect joints (Fusco et al., 2016) and are characterized by joint pain and stiffness, sometimes associated with redness, swelling and a decreased range of motion. Osteoarthritis represents by far the most common cause of articular pain (Warner et al., 2016). 

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and Osteoarthritis Society International (OARSI) guidelines recommend that the first-line therapy for OA focuses on conservative therapies with an emphasis towards lifestyle modifications, including weight loss, water intake, land-based exercise, strength training and instilling self-management skills for a chronic disease process (Yu et al., 2016). Other conservative treatment modalities include biomechanical interventions aiming at supporting the limbs such as orthoses.