Abstract
Musculoskeletal pain is a frequent presenting complaint to primary care physicians. The majority of these patients have a localized disorder from overuse, trauma, or degenerative disease. A smaller number of patients present with more generalized musculoskeletal pain and a multitude of complaints that may represent a wide spectrum of illnesses varying from any of the connective tissue diseases to articular manifestations of nonrheumatologic diseases. Although the extent of evaluation of these patients will differ, a similar approach designed to answer several simple questions can be used in both settings. As one does the history and physical examination, the following questions should be answered: (1) Is the problem localized or generalized? (2) Is it structural or inflammatory? (3) What structure or structures are involved? (4) Are there systemic symptoms or extraarticular manifestations?
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© 1997 Springer Science+Business Media New York
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Pendleton, J.W., Short, D. (1997). Rheumatology. In: Hubbard, J.R., Short, D. (eds) Primary Care Medicine for Psychiatrists. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-5857-6_7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-5857-6_7
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-1-4613-7685-9
Online ISBN: 978-1-4615-5857-6
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