Musculoskeletal disorders are a common cause of long-term disability and are estimated to make up about 15% of the workload of general practitioners. Joint pain specifically is also extremely common, especially as one ages. In one national survey, one-third of adults reported having joint pain within the past 30 days. Knee pain was the most common complaint followed by shoulder and hip pain. Epidemiological studies suggest that there is a large reservoir of patients with significant musculoskeletal disorders who do not consult with health services at all, contributing to community malaise and common problems such as soft tissue pain, back pain and minor arthritides that may often go untreated in the community. When such patients do present in primary practice the practitioner must remain alert to the possibility such presentations could also reflect an emerging more serious rheumatic or nonrheumatic condition. The practice of rheumatologic medicine embraces a wide range of conditions making this field of medicine incredibly interesting. Apart from “wear and tear” -osteoarthritis which is the most common type of arthritis there are inflammatory autoimmune conditions to consider such as rheumatoid, ankylosis spondylitis and lupus for example, crystal arthropathies and then the very large group of strains, sprains, other injuries and fibromyalgia which can all be expected as clinical problems to be managed in primary practice. Doctor Mirza Baig is a general physician with an interest in rheumatological diseases and has a busy medical practice extending across metropolitan and rural communities. It was a great privilege to have this conversation with Mirza across two episodes embracing a practical approach to inflammatory and noninflammatory joint disease and joint counselling as well as practical tips for the management of fibromyalgia. Please welcome Dr Mirza Baig. References: Dr Mirza Baig : www.sjog.org.au fibromyalgiaausralia.org.au www.rheumatology.org www.ncbi.nlm.gov To be a guest on the show or provide some feedback, I’d love to hear from you: [email protected] Dr Luke Crantock MBBS, FRACP, is a gastroenterologist in practice for over 25 years. He is the founder of The Centre for GI Health, based in Melbourne Australia and is passionate about educating General Practitioners and patients on disease prevention and how to manage and improve their digestive health.