Musculoskeletal

CLINICAL UPDATE – Osteporosis: New research has revealed a need for GPs to assess their patients’ history more closely when prescribing for post-menopausal osteoporosis, to reduce the risk of upper gastrointestinal (GI) side effects that could lead to treatment discontinuation.

CLINICAL UPDATE – Osteoporosis: DXA scans (Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry) measure bone density in patients suspected of suffering from osteoporosis.

Supervised exercises are more effective than shockwave treatment to relieve chronic shoulder pain, a new study has found.

Prof Moira O’Brien examines the role that exercise plays in the development of bone strength — whether that means not enough exercise or too much {openx:269} Osteoporosis is the most common bone disease worldwide; it is a silent disease.

The surgical procedure LUNA (laparoscopic uterosacral nerve ablation) did not result in improvements in chronic pelvic pain, painful menstruation, painful sexual intercourse or quality of life when compared with laparoscopic surgery that does not interrupt pelvic nerve connections, says a new study.

Dr Bobby Coughlan offers readers his top tips on the management of rheumatology patients in the first article in a new, six-part series {openx:269} In a new six-part series, specialists offer top tips on the diagnosis, assessment and management of stroke, dyslipidaemia and heart failure, as well as bone, rheumatology and respiratory/sleep disorders.

The recent 3e National Meeting brought together 20 of Ireland’s rheumatologists to discuss the best ways to investigate and follow up undifferentiated peripheral inflammatory arthritis {openx:269} For the past two years, Irish consultant rheumatologists have been fortunate enough to participate in a novel alternative to traditional medical education.

Taking photographs or video of unusual symptoms on an ordinary camera phone can help doctors diagnose uncommon problems, including rheumatology conditions, according to researchers.

A study comparing surgical treatments for sciatica has found that the minimally invasive procedure known as tubular diskectomy does not provide a significant difference in improvement of functional disability compared to the more common surgery, conventional microdiskectomy.

A simple training programme, based on a series of balancing exercises, can cut the risk of recurrent ankle sprains by 35 per cent and could lead to huge savings in medical and lost productivity costs, a new study has concluded.