Assessment, Management and Exercise-Based Rehabilitation of Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain: Emerging Evidence, Clinical Applications and Future Directions
A Special Issue of Healthcare (ISSN 2227-9032) belonging to the section "Clinical Care".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 June 2027 | Viewed by 112
Editor
Interests: chronic musculoskeletal pain; rehabilitation; exercise therapy; physical activity; fibromyalgia; low back pain; osteoarthritis; pain assessment; pain management; precision rehabilitation; personalized exercise; physical therapy; digital health; telehealth; wearable technology; patient-reported outcomes; biopsychosocial model; clinical trials; implementation science; public health
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Chronic musculoskeletal pain is one of the leading causes of disability worldwide and remains a major public health challenge. Conditions such as fibromyalgia, chronic low back pain, neck pain, osteoarthritis, chronic widespread pain (and so on) are associated with substantial physical, psychological, social and economic burdens. Despite growing evidence supporting exercise-based rehabilitation as a cornerstone of management, important challenges persist regarding patient assessment, treatment personalization, long-term adherence and implementation in clinical practice.
Recent advances in pain science have expanded our understanding of the multidimensional nature of chronic pain and highlighted the importance of individualized approaches that integrate biological, psychological and social factors. In parallel, developments in rehabilitation science, exercise prescription, patient-reported outcome assessments, digital health technologies and precision medicine have created new opportunities to improve treatment effectiveness and patient-centered care. Among chronic musculoskeletal pain conditions, fibromyalgia has emerged as a particularly relevant model for investigating symptom heterogeneity, pain mechanisms, functional limitations and responses to exercise-based interventions. However, important knowledge gaps remain regarding patient phenotyping, treatment responsiveness, outcome assessment and the translation of research findings into routine clinical practice. This Special Issue aims to provide a comprehensive platform for high-quality research addressing the assessment, management and exercise-based rehabilitation of chronic musculoskeletal pain, with particular attention to fibromyalgia and related chronic pain conditions. We welcome studies that advance clinical decision-making, improve rehabilitation strategies, enhance patient outcomes and contribute to the development of more personalized and evidence-based approaches to chronic pain management.
Submissions may include original research articles, randomized controlled trials, cohort studies, systematic reviews, meta-analyses, methodological studies, clinical practice perspectives and implementation research. By bringing together contributions from rehabilitation sciences, physical therapy, exercise science, pain medicine, rheumatology, psychology and related disciplines, this Special Issue seeks to stimulate interdisciplinary collaboration and promote innovative solutions for the management of chronic musculoskeletal pain.
Prof. Dr. André Pontes-Silva
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Healthcare is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- chronic musculoskeletal pain
- rehabilitation
- exercise
- physical activity
- fibromyalgia
- low back pain
- osteoarthritis
- pain
- precision rehabilitation
- patient-reported outcomes
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