In 2021, Chiropractic & Manual Therapies (CMT) sent out a call to researchers to submit their suggestions of ways to expand the management of MSK pain to include more aspects than treatment guided by structural diagnoses.
This resulted in several research papers, which can be read in the thematic series A new paradigm for musculoskeletal pain care: moving beyond structural impairments in CMT (link below). In their papers, researchers present their suggestions for different aspects of future treatment of MSK pain. The thematic series was edited by Professor Julie Fritz, University of Utah, and Alice Kongsted, Professor at the University of Southern Denmark, and Senior Researcher at the Chiropractic Knowledge Hub.
A recurring theme in the papers is the importance of contextual factors - i.e. the patient’s and the clinician’s beliefs, the patient’s expectations about the treatment, and the interaction between the clinician and the patient – on the result of the treatment. These factors can play a role in the patient’s experience of the treatment and its success.
In a summary of the points in the papers in the thematic series, Julie Fritz and Alice Kongsted emphasise that a profound understanding of these contextual factors can improve how patients benefit from traditional treatment. They argue that treatment of MSK pain should be more person-centred and new treatments should aim at furthering the patient’s engagement in self-efficacy and a belief in the ability to influence his or her own situation.
Furthermore, it is necessary to have a cooperation between researchers, clinicians, patients, and politicians to improve the treatment of MSK pain. This implies a shift from traditional treatments to a development of partnerships that support the patient’s participation in meaningful activities and requires new competencies as well as a change of the clinician’s professional identity.
Do you want to delve further into the subject? Click on the link below to read all the papers in the thematic series.
Click on the link to read alle the papers in the thematic series