Patient-centred care: the cornerstone for high-value musculoskeletal pain management

Key Points

1. The focus of care should be not only on what we do, but also on how we do it.

All key points available for members only

Start free trial

Or log in here

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE

Musculoskeletal (MSK) pain is a global challenge. Despite clinical and educational enthusiasm for various options for treating MSK pain such as manual therapy, movement and exercise, medical procedures, medications, education, and combinations of techniques, there has been no one intervention that can claim strong results. What do we have that is of better value? The person in pain provides the critical piece of the puzzle for pain management.

This paper outlines 11 components of high value MSK pain management and proposes that all of these components hinge on the establishment of patient-centred care. The authors call for education programs to teach patient-centred skills and for clinicians to improve the effectiveness of their communication to increase the effectiveness of their MSK pain management (1).

The person in pain provides the critical piece of the puzzle for pain management.

When you are with a patient there are two experts in the room – you as the expert in care and options, and the patient who is the expert in what they are experiencing, what their priorities are, and what the meaning of their pain is.

METHODS

The authors summarized previous work by Lin et al on best practices for MSK treatment (2). The paper provides examples of good communication through a patient-centred lens. It is clear, as stated by the authors, that “To achieve high-quality MSK

Start free trial

to unlock full access to this review and 799 more

Or log in here