Diagnosis and Management Approach to Musculoskeletal Pain
CPD Unit: 0.5 Point | 
30 Minutes | 
16 Jun 2025
Overview
About this course
Not all musculoskeletal pain (MSK) is caused by arthritis. MSK pain can be articular or periarticular in
nature, with the former category encompassing osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, septic arthritis, and
gouty arthritis, to name a few. A thorough history and a systematic physical examination is vital in the
proper diagnosis of MSK pain. Moreover, recognizing red flags and knowing when to refer to a rheumatologist
is important when managing these conditions.
This e-learning module aims to discuss the common risk
factors, clinical features, approach to the diagnosis, and management of musculoskeletal pain.
Learning outcomes
Upon completion of the educational activity, participants should be able to:
- Differentiate articular and non-articular causes of musculoskeletal pain based on history and physical examination
- Identify common causes of articular and non-articular pain
- Outline the initial management and treatment considerations of common soft-tissue rheumatisms and arthritides
Topics covered
- Introduction: Differentiating articular and non/peri-articular pain
- Approach to Musculoskeletal Pain based on History and Physical Examination
- Management of Soft Tissue Rheumatisms (STR)
- Algorithm for the diagnosis of musculoskeletal complaints
- Red Flag conditions
- Approach to Articular source of pain
- Radiologic Imaging in Musculoskeletal Pain
-
Initial Management of Arthritis
- Commonly used oral NSAIDs for musculoskeletal pain
- What to watch out for using NSAIDs
- How to choose anti-inflammatory therapy
Speaker for this course:
Juan Raphael Gonzales, MD, FPCP, DPRA
Internal Medicine – Rheumatology
University of the Philippines – Philippine General Hospital
East Avenue Medical Center
0.5 CPD Point Available
- Score at least 80% on the quiz.
- A certificate can be downloaded upon successful completion. Please use the information on the certificate to claim your CPD points.
Keywords: musculoskeletal pain, articular pain, non-articular pain, gouty arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, septic arthritis