MUSCULOSKELETAL
MATTERS
Keele
University
Bulletin 6
TRENDS IN GP PAIN
MEDICATION PRESCRIBING
Research has shown analgesics (painkillers) can be
effective in treating musculoskeletal pain and up to
10% of all prescriptions issued in general practice are
for analgesics. Analgesics can vary in strength (mild,
moderate, strong), in the way they are taken (tablets,
patches or topical creams), and some have
anti-inflammatory actions whilst others do not. There
are over 300 analgesics available to GPs to prescribe.
To aid doctors in their choice, the Medicines and
Health Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and
NICE have produced guidance on the safe prescribing
of analgesics for musculoskeletal pain.
We assessed whether these guidelines have changed
the way GPs prescribe analgesics.
Cox-2 non-steroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDs)
• I n Dec 2004 – Feb 2005 MHRA advised GPs to stop
using Cox-2 NSAIDs in patients with heart disease
due to increased risks of cardiovascular events.
• I n North Staffordshire, this advice was associated
with a significant decrease in the use of Cox-2
NSAIDs (Figure 1).
Figure 1: Changes in North Staffordshire NSAID prescribing 2002-2009
These bulletins are designed to provide information for general practitioners, the primary care team, teachers, trainers and policy makers about musculoskeletal problems in practice.