What is musculoskeletal pain?

Musculoskeletal pain is the most common manifestation of chronic pain. Use of the term neuromusculoskeletal pain more accurately suggests that the nervous system is fundamentally altered – sometimes irreversibly.¹³Shah JP. Myofascial Trigger Points, Sensitization and the Unique Neurobiology of Muscle Pain. Rehabilitation Medicine Department, Mark O. Hatfield Clinical Research Center, National Institutes of Health. 2010. p2.

What causes musculoskeletal pain?

Musculoskeletal pain is initiated when noxious stimuli deform the axonal membrane of muscle nociceptor endings beyond their firing threshold— causing the release of sensitizing substances such as bradykinin, prostaglandins, and serotonin from muscle tissue.¹⁴Shah JP. Myofascial Trigger Points, Sensitization and the Unique Neurobiology of Muscle Pain. Rehabilitation Medicine Department, Mark O. Hatfield Clinical Research Center, National Institutes of Health. 2010. p3.

Symptoms of musculoskeletal pain

Once sensitized, group IV afferents fire at lower thresholds—responding to innocuous stimuli like gentle pressure and muscle movement, causing the exquisite tenderness experienced from pressure to a myofascial trigger point.¹⁵Shah JP. Myofascial Trigger Points, Sensitization and the Unique Neurobiology of Muscle Pain. Rehabilitation Medicine Department, Mark O. Hatfield Clinical Research Center, National Institutes of Health. 2010