Our People / Musculoskeletal Medicine
Musculoskeletal medicine is an emerging specialty in Australia dealing with pain and dysfunction in the musculoskeletal system. It is accepted as a specialist qualification in new Zealand, but not yet in Australia. Musculoskeletal Physicians are trained and regulated by the Australasian Faculty of Musculoskeletal Medicine (AFMM). Dr Victor Wilk is a founding member and past president of the AFMM.
15% of all general practice consultations relate to aches and pains and loss of use of the musculoskeletal system. The most common aches and pains in the body are the back, neck, shoulder, elbow, hip and knee. Although sometimes labelled as arthritis:, there are other possible causes of pain. For instance in arthritis of the hip, as well as pain arising form within the joint, there may be additional pain related to surrounding muscles cramping or spasm. Two people may have similar looking X-rays but vastly differnt pain experiences. In many cases the exact source and cause of pain are unknown and are not evident using common tests. The term"musculoskeletal pain" or "dysfunction", is used to describe these conditions. The pain is real, but may not evident on x-rays and even MRI scans. It means that the problem lies somewhere in the bones, joints, nerves, muscles of the affected part of the body. Sometimes the pains are "referred form a nearby area of the body and have been misdiagnosed by a less thorough examination.
Musculoskeletal Medicine complements other existing specialties such as rheumatology, orthopaedic surgery and rehabilitation medicine. Some patients are told surgery is the only option to manage their chronic pain. One example is disc prolapse where many doctors are not aware of the benefits of specific injection techniques such as transforaminal epidural injections which have reduced the need for surgery by 50% in one recently published study. Some injections use cortisone to reduce inflammation, while in other cases cortisone is not needed. Recently there has been increasing interest in the use of "regenerative therapy" involing injecitons of the persons own blood (Autologous blood injections and Platelet Rich Plasma) or glucose (prolotherapy) to stimulate tissue repair
Musculoskeletal Physicians specialise in these injeciton techniques and also Radiofrequency Nerve Ablation for the managemnt of chronic lower back , neck pain and associated headache. More information can be fund on these various injection techniques under the menu section Articles of Interest on this website. .
For further information click this link: Musculoskeletal Medicine at Brighton Spinal Group.
The following website provides details on Musculoskeletal physicians in Australia:
Australian Association of Musculoskeletal Medicine (AAMM)
To see a video of the spine click here (please note file size 16MB, approximately 2 minutes loading time required)
| Dr Victor Wilk |
Musculoskeletal Medicine |
Victor Wilk is a Musculoskeletal Physician and Medical Director of the Brighton Spinal Group. He is currently President of the Australasian Faculty of Musculoskeletal Medicine. From a background originally in sports medicine in the early 1980s, Victor has over 20 years of experience in dealing with acute and chronic back pain problems. He has completed a post graduate diploma in Musculoskeletal Medicine and a masters degree in Pain Medicine. In addition to his work at Brighton, he has developed guidelines for managing low back pain for the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, and regularly gives lectures and seminars to doctors and allied health professionals in Australia and overseas. He maintains an open minded holistic approach in diagnosing and managing difficult spinal problems. At Brighton he oversees pain management programs utilising the onsite gymnasium. Specific treatments used also include prolotherapy and cortisone injections for muscle and tendon problems and x-ray guided injection and denervation techniques for chronic spinal pain, headaches and sciatica, performed at the Alfred Centre, Melbourne. |