Musculoskeletal Disorders

Test your knowledge of the latest management recommendations for a growing public health problem.

A new study finds that low doses of fish oil improved pain and function in knee osteoarthritis more effectively than high doses. No clinical or structural advantage to an anti-inflammatory dose was found.

For key facts and figures about musculoskeletal disorders, perhaps a surprise as the fourth leading diagnostic category in primary care, see the pages that follow.

Bisphosphonates, teriparatide, vitamin D, calcium, raloxifene, vertebroplasty/kyphoplasty: here’s the latest on osteoporosis.

Brief exposure to a variety of modifiable factors-physical and psychosocial-increases the risk of back pain.

Synovitis predates and is associated with the development of radiographic osteoarthritis, new findings suggest. Treating synovitis in knee OA may help reduce disease progression and relieve symptoms. Details here.

While demonstrating his retro dance moves, a 31-year-old injures his knee doing “the Twist.” Now he can barely walk. Would you order an x-ray?

An occult fracture in the knee is most often a nondisplaced lateral tibial plateau fracture.

Chronic pain and psychological interventions, complex regional pain syndrome, spinal fractures and low back pain, acute gouty arthritis, Chiari I malformation, Dengue fever, erythema nodosum-a look at pain in its many shapes, sizes, and locations.

Rushing down a flight of hardwood stairs wearing socks lands a 38-year-old man on his back and then in the ED for evaluation of back pain that prohibits walking. Can you spot the problem on the x-ray?

Spinal fractures are most often the result of falls, motor vehicle accidents, or sports injuries. Lateral process fractures may occasionally be associated with renal injury.

The benefits of statin therapy no longer stand uncontested as they did early in the life cycle of the class. The pro and con camps each can point to science, but in the end it's about personalized medicine.

Presenting complaints were fever, nausea, and lower abdominal pain that worsened with walking. Osteomyelitis is not commonly included in a differential for abdominal pain. This case is different.

Test your radiographic skills with this emergency medicine case. Can you spot the injury? Is there more here than initially meets the eye?

Bone problems run the gamut from low bone density and osteoporosis to sports and exercise injuries to congenital disorders. Take this week’s photo quiz to test your knowledge of bone disease and related concerns.

Marriage is good for the health of some men's bones, says the first study to link marital history and quality of marriage to bone health.

Becoming familiar with recent developments in managing “the king of diseases and the disease of kings” may help.

Images of Achilles tendon injuries, rotator cuff tears, FOOSH (fall on outstretched hand) injury, superficial abrasion, Lisfranc joint injury, and avulsion fracture.

Among the NSAIDs used for relieving the pain of inflammatory arthritis, naproxen may have the best benefit to risk ratio on cardiovascular disease.

Spinal problems include epidural abscess, paravertebral muscle atrophy, Chiari I malformation, osteomyelitis/discitis, diastematomyelia, spinal compression, spinal tuberculosis.

Much like HIV/AIDS, RA is associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular disease and consequent death. How might inflammation add to the risk?

An obese woman in her thirties with a history of fibromyalgia syndrome, depression, polycystic ovarian syndrome, and diabetes mellitus presents to her local emergency department with 1 week of gradually worsening midline back pain.

Despite limitations, this study lends some reassurance that risk of osteoporosis is not likely to overshadow the benefit of proton pump inhibitors in preventing recurrent peptic ulcer, esophageal reflux symptoms, and esophageal cancer risk.

In an era characterized by an expanding array of expensive gout therapies, it may be that cherries have been overlooked.

More than half of adults 65 years and older have at least 3 chronic conditions, such as heart disease, diabetes mellitus, arthritis, high blood pressure, and Alzheimer disease, according to the American Geriatrics Society.

Joint deformity is far from the only concern in rheumatoid arthritis. The condition is associated with a variety of comorbidities and adverse events related to the medications used to prevent or treat symptoms, as these photos attest.

Gout guidelines recently approved by the American College of Rheumatology have a 2-part focus. They offer patients information on effective methods for preventing gout attacks, and they provide physicians with recommended therapies for long-term disease management.

Here: a concise summary of dosing recommendations for the array of pharmacologic options now available to treat gout.

Gout is associated with a 57% increased risk of ESRD, independent of hypertension and diabetes, according to new research.