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Musculoskeletal
Joints, bones, muscles — osteoarthritis, gout, back pain.
31 posts in this body system.
Full-text search across every page — patient-education library, /pulse news commentary, and site pages. Try statin, TGA peptides, insomnia.
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Sarcopenia and age-related muscle loss
Resistance training after 40: AU evidence-based sarcopenia prevention
Age-band dosing, compound lifts, supervision triggers, and the Australian GP pathway for prescribing resistance training across the decades.
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Osteoporosis / osteopenia — LIFTMOR-style bone-loading protocol
LIFTMOR bone-loading protocol for osteoporosis in older adults
LIFTMOR protocol for bone density in older adults with osteoporosis or osteopenia — evidence appraisal, safety screening, and the Australian GP pathway.
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Idiopathic inflammatory myopathy (polymyositis/dermatomyositis)
Polymyositis and dermatomyositis: autoimmune muscle disease in general practice
Inflammatory myopathy — proximal muscle weakness, skin rashes, ILD, and cancer risk — what GPs need to know about diagnosis and early referral.
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Mixed connective tissue disease
Mixed connective tissue disease: the AU general practice guide
How to diagnose MCTD via anti-U1-RNP and Alarcón-Segovia criteria, screen annually for ILD and PAH, and manage it in Australian general practice.
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Behçet's disease
Behçet's disease — recognition, diagnosis and GP management
Multisystem vasculitis in CALD communities: recurrent oral ulcers plus any systemic feature requires urgent rheumatology and ophthalmology referral.
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Rehabilitation — blood-flow restriction training
Blood-flow restriction training — joint-sparing strength in general practice
BFR combines low-load resistance training with pneumatic cuff occlusion to produce hypertrophy and strength gains when heavy loading is contraindicated.
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Cutaneous lupus erythematosus
Cutaneous lupus: recognising DLE, SCLE, and ACLE in general practice
Discoid lupus, subacute cutaneous lupus, and acute malar rash — how to screen for systemic disease, start hydroxychloroquine safely, and refer appropriately.
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Juvenile idiopathic arthritis
Juvenile idiopathic arthritis: the AU general practice approach
Juvenile idiopathic arthritis — how GPs diagnose, refer, and monitor this chronic paediatric autoimmune joint disease in Australian practice.
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ANCA-associated vasculitis (GPA, MPA, EGPA)
ANCA-associated vasculitis: recognising GPA, MPA and EGPA in general practice
ANCA vasculitis — how to recognise GPA, MPA and EGPA early, what to do urgently, and the GP's role in shared-care monitoring and relapse prevention.
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Hand soft-tissue conditions
Hand soft-tissue conditions: Dupuytren's, ganglion, trigger finger
Common hand soft-tissue conditions in AU general practice — when to inject, when to refer, and how to spot surgical emergencies.
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Wrist tendinopathy
Wrist tendinopathy (de Quervain's): the AU general practice approach
De Quervain tenosynovitis and wrist tendinopathies — clinical diagnosis, Finkelstein test, steroid injections, and pregnancy management.
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Antiphospholipid syndrome (thrombotic and obstetric)
Antiphospholipid syndrome: warfarin not DOACs, LMWH in pregnancy
Antiphospholipid syndrome — warfarin required in triple-positive APS, aspirin + LMWH for obstetric APS, and catastrophic APS emergency management.
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Systemic sclerosis
Scleroderma (systemic sclerosis): the GP guide to organ surveillance
Systemic sclerosis causes skin and organ fibrosis. Learn limited vs diffuse subtypes, the renal crisis ACEi rule, and Australian management of ILD and PAH.
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Sports and soft-tissue injuries
Sports & soft-tissue injuries: the PEACE & LOVE approach in AU general practice
How PEACE & LOVE replaces RICE for sprains, strains, and contusions — Ottawa imaging rules, concussion management, and the Australian return-to-sport pathway.
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Sjögren's syndrome
Sjögren's syndrome: dry eyes, dry mouth, and the GP role in diagnosis
Sjögren's syndrome — dry eyes, dry mouth, autoantibody diagnosis, hydroxychloroquine, and lymphoma surveillance in Australian general practice.
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Inflammatory arthritis (rheumatoid arthritis, spondyloarthritis, polymyalgia rheumatica)
Inflammatory arthritis: recognising RA, spondyloarthritis and PMR in GP
Recognising inflammatory arthritis — RA, spondyloarthritis, psoriatic arthritis and PMR — in Australian general practice, workup, referral and shared care.
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Neck pain and whiplash-associated disorder
Neck pain and whiplash: the AU general practice approach
Neck pain and whiplash-associated disorder — assessment, red flags, evidence-based management, and the Australian biopsychosocial approach.
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Tendinopathy (lateral epicondylopathy, Achilles, patellar, gluteal)
Tendinopathies: load management over injections — the AU approach
Why progressive loading beats corticosteroid injections for tendinopathy — AU general practice approach for elbow, Achilles, patellar, and gluteal sites.
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Nocturnal leg cramps
Nocturnal leg cramps: assessment and management in AU general practice
Why nocturnal leg cramps occur, what helps, which medications are culprits, and why quinine is no longer recommended routinely in Australia.
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Polymyalgia rheumatica; giant cell arteritis
PMR and GCA: diagnosis and steroid management in general practice
PMR causes bilateral shoulder stiffness in older adults; GCA is a sight-threatening emergency. Both require prolonged prednisolone with bone protection.
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Ankylosing spondylitis & axial spondyloarthritis
Ankylosing spondylitis & axial spondyloarthritis: the GP guide
AxSpA — recognising inflammatory back pain under 45, the diagnostic workup, PBS biologic access, and long-term monitoring in Australian general practice.
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Hip pain — greater trochanteric pain syndrome & femoroacetabular impingement
Hip pain: GTPS, gluteal tendinopathy & femoroacetabular impingement
GTPS and FAI — diagnosis, the LEAP trial, when corticosteroid injection helps, and the Australian referral pathway for lateral and groin hip pain.
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Frailty and sarcopenia
Frailty and sarcopenia: identifying and reversing decline in older adults
Frailty affects ~15% of Australians aged 65+. Clinical Frailty Scale, resistance training, protein targets, polypharmacy review, and MDT care.
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Ankle sprain — lateral ligament complex
Ankle sprain: Ottawa rules, POLICE protocol, and getting back to sport
Ankle sprain — when to X-ray, how to grade severity, the POLICE protocol, rehabilitation for preventing re-injury, and the AU general practice pathway.
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Shoulder pain
Shoulder pain: causes, diagnosis and treatment in Australian general practice
Shoulder pain affects ~70% of adults at some point. How rotator cuff problems, frozen shoulder, AC joint and OA are assessed and managed in Australian GP.
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Carpal tunnel syndrome
Carpal tunnel syndrome: symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment in Australia
Carpal tunnel syndrome causes night-time hand tingling and numbness. How AU GPs diagnose and treat it — splints, injections, and surgery.
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Plantar fasciitis (plantar fasciopathy / plantar heel pain)
Plantar fasciitis: heel pain causes, stretches, and treatment
Plantar fasciitis causes stabbing morning heel pain. How AU GPs diagnose it, which stretches and orthoses help, and when injections or scans are needed.
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Low back pain
Low back pain: the AU general practice approach to acute, chronic and radicular
Low back pain in Australia — red-flag exclusion, no routine imaging, NSAID first-line, physiotherapy, and the biopsychosocial approach for chronic pain.
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Osteoporosis
Osteoporosis: bone density, fracture risk, and what actually works
Osteoporosis — how it's diagnosed in AU general practice, when bisphosphonates or denosumab are used, and why exercise plus calcium and vitamin D matter.
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Gout
Gout: treat-to-target urate, not just the flare — the AU GP approach
Gout — why daily allopurinol to a urate target matters more than diet alone, how acute flares are treated, and the AU general practice pathway.
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Osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis: exercise, weight, topical NSAIDs first — the AU approach
Osteoarthritis — what it is, why exercise and weight loss come before pills, and the AU primary-tier pathway through pharmacotherapy and joint replacement.