Musculoskeletal pain and osteoarthritis with Imran Sajid

Musculoskeletal (MSK) pain and osteoarthritis are clinically common in general practice, but with the new draft NICE guideline on osteoarthritis (published in April 2022) recommending a move away from pharmacological treatments and instead promoting self-management, some GPs have been left wondering how best to manage MSK pain going forwards . In this week’s episode, Dr. Imran Sajid talks to us about the importance of educating patients on what arthritis really is – moving away from the term “wear and tear” – and of taking a thorough history of a patient’s pain journey in consultations. He also gives practical advice on how we might approach non-pharmacological management of MSK pain with our patients. Our guest: Imran Sajid is a GP with a special interest in MSK medicine. He is the clinical lead in MSK & Diagnostics for NHS North West London, an adjunct lecturer in Health Policy at the University of Global Health Equity, as well as being a qualified personal trainer. Further reading: ‘Osteoarthritis: assessment and management, draft for consultation, April 2022’. NICE. 2022. https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/gid-ng10127/documents/draft-guideline

‘The tear, flare, and repair model of osteoarthritis’. BMJ 2022;377:o1028. https://www.bmj.com/content/377/bmj.o1028