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Quality of life in chronic musculoskeletal pain

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.berh.2007.03.001Get rights and content

This chapter reviews the impact of chronic musculoskeletal pain on patients' health-related quality of life. In addition to the physical health consequences, chronic musculoskeletal pain can have a profound negative impact on an individual's emotional and social well-being. Although efforts in the health sector are obviously of crucial importance in the management of chronic musculoskeletal pain, a high level of patient and societal involvement is key to reducing the burden of this condition. Patients should work in partnership with health-care professionals, actively participating in their care. Family members should encourage their loved ones to be as independent as possible. The employer of a person with chronic musculoskeletal pain has a vital role in returning him or her to work as soon as possible. Removing all barriers to the use of preventive and therapeutic services will help us to reduce the burden of musculoskeletal pain conditions on both patients and society.

Section snippets

Physical health impacts

Chronic musculoskeletal pain impacts negatively on physical health in several ways. Firstly, there is evidence that individuals with CMP are more likely to have long-term activity limitation.6 Many previous studies revealed that there is a strong association between pain and decrease in physical activity.7, 8, 9 Pain severity10, duration11, or localization12 may play a critical role in an individual's physical functioning. The decrease in physical activity due to pain may contribute to a

Expectations from patients for CMP management

Owing to the complex nature of CMP, conservative therapy is commonly of little or no benefit. Medications provide only limited and short-term symptom management. In comparison with acute pain, the treatment of chronic pain is not time-limited and, in general, no single intervention will provide the desired therapeutic outcome, so effective CMP management must be comprehensive.

Previous studies have shown that patient involvement in disease management is associated with higher levels of patient

Expectations from society for CMP management

Chronic musculoskeletal pain affects many millions of people around the world.*4, 93 In addition to the burden on the individual, CMP also is associated with a loss of productivity, high utilization of health services, and substantial health-care expenditure.94 Consequently, CMP is not only a problem of an individual but also a problem of society, and strong institutional and societal efforts are needed to reduce the burden on the community as well as on individual patients.

The family is the

Summary

CMP is not only an unpleasant sensation, it affects nearly every aspects of a patient's life, including overall daily activities, emotions and social interactions. A collaborative approach is needed to address the damage that CMP causes to each of these areas over time. Patient, family, and public and private sector involvement is a key element in improving HRQoL in patients with CMP. The barriers to primary, secondary and tertiary health care should be identified and removed as far as possible.

Acknowledgment

The author thanks Dr Levent Eker for editing the manuscript.

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