are several and most are probably not the direct fault of your doctor.
Most have been trained to first investigate possible pathology and infection, which is good
medicine, but when neither of those situations turns up, they often decide the disorder isn’t
serious and fail to give it their full attention, which is bad medicine.
Another reason is that treatment of pain is usually an ongoing process, one the healthcare
establishment places very low on its list of priorities because it can be potentially expensive to
treat.
It may be one reason why so little attention is paid to musculoskeletal medicine in their
education.
In 2006, Stockard et al found that 82% of medical graduates “failed to demonstrate basic
competency in musculoskeletal medicine.” (Stockard AR, 2006)
This is a disturbing finding, considering these are the specialists many of us see in the course of our pain treatment.
QUICK FACTS ON MEDICINE:
- Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) have accounted for more than 70 million
prescriptions and 30 billion over-the-counter purchases.
- NSAIDs are also among the most common medications prescribed inappropriately to
older citizens.
