Musculoskeletal conditions and pain management

The current issue of Physical Therapy Reviews includes a variety of papers from the UK and from New Zealand, thematically integrated around the topic of musculoskeletal conditions and pain management. While we have previously commissioned and published Special Issues at regular intervals over the years (most recently on Amputations, and on Clinical Education), we also from time to time provide themed issues drawn from our regular submissions to the journal, focussed on a particular area of clinical practice.

Work published in this issue from Dr Ramakrishnan Mani and colleagues at the University of Otago, New Zealand focusses on musculoskeletal pain, including: systematic reviews on test procedures for somatosensory abnormalities in low back pain (Alqarni et al) [1], and on risk factors for the development of low back pain (Krisnamurthy et al) [2], as well as a protocol for a cross-sectional online survey of people suffering inflammatory bowel disease with self-reported pain (Falling et al) [3]. The focus of the last paper, while recognised as important by clinicians and people affected, represents a currently under-researched area of health and practice.

Dr Sarah Wilson and Professor Fiona Cramp from the Bath Centre for Pain Services, Royal United Hospitals Bath, and the University of the West of England, have reviewed the evidence to support psychological interventions combined with physiotherapy to improve pain and function in people with chronic pain [4]. Their findings highlight the benefit in terms of improved function of such combined approaches over physiotherapy alone, and underscore the importance of further work in this area.

Osteoarthritis of the hand is a prevalent and disabling condition, and often ‘forgotten’; however non-pharmacological interventions have an important role in its management. Assessment of current recommendations for hand exercises in osteoarthritis is the aim of a systematic review protocol published here from Beatrice Sankah, working with Professors Maria Stokes and Joanna Adams from University of Southampton in England [5].

Finally, the use of digital technologies to promote physical activity is a rapidly developing area of clinical and research interest. In an important contribution to the field, Dr Alice Berry and colleagues from University of West of England, Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases, and Bournemouth University in the UK have completed a systematic review of the evidence in osteoarthritis, concluding that while short term benefits are well supported, further work is needed to assess putative benefits in the longer term [6].

Professor G. David Baxter
Editor-in-Chief
[email protected]