Common Musculoskeletal Problems

This book is designed to act as an off-the-shelf guide to assist health care providers evaluating patients presenting with common musculoskeletal complaints in the primary care setting. The result of a $750,000 research grant that studied how comfortable primary care providers felt when treating musculoskeletal conditions, this book addresses the common finding that family physcians felt unprepared despite frequently seeing these types of complaints. Since the primary care physician operates in a different environment than an orthopedic surgeon, the approach to the patient presenting in the primary care clinic must also differ from the specialist's approach. This book has been divided into chapters covering major body regions and injuries, and each chapter includes: Red flags, which are conditions requiring immediate treatment and referral; basic anatomy of the body region; Clinical evaluation techniques and tear sheets for use during examination; Common clinical diagnoses; and disposition of the patient illustrated with helpful flow charts.