Musculoskeletal health is bread and butter work for a GP. In 2009 I undertook a Masters degree in Sport and Exercise Medicine at the University of Nottingham in the Department of Trauma and Orthopaedics because I wanted to get better at helping patients get better or at least suffer less!
Back pain, fibromyalgia and chronic pain conditions have been on the increase and there is now a much better understanding of pain pathways and where these go wrong keeping patients in a constant cycle of exhaustion, pain and significant disability. I know this is not a patients fault and that they are doing everything they know how to get better and I know that they can feel judged by the people around them when they ‘don’t get better’ , including us Doctors.
We use to think that osteoarthritis was a wear and tear arthritis but this is not true. Rather osteoarthritis is a mismatch between repair processes and joint damage/inflammation that has resulted from mechanical stress/inflammation and imbalances in metabolic factors ( chemical processes taking place in the body which sustain life). Gout is a common form of inflammatory type of arthritis whereby the metabolic challenge is excess of uric acid in the blood that results in the formation of tiny sharp crystals of urate forming in and around a joint. Medication can reduce the burden of symptoms for an acute attack but it is lifestyle and dietary changes that make the MOST difference.
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Disclaimer: A private GP service is not a substitute or replacement for times when people need immediate or emergency care. Please use the appropriate care provider service (GP/111 in hours or 111/walk-in centre for out-of-hours minor/non-life threatening conditions or 999/AE if a serious accident or life-threatening emergency e.g. chest pain/severe difficulty in breathing, heavy bleeding).