Musculoskeletal disorders are a worldwide health problem resulting in negative effects on individuals' well-being and substantial costs to society. Musculoskeletal disorders often have a multifactorial origin and are influenced by multifactorial risk factors, including biomechanical, psychosocial, and individual characteristics and lead to human suffering, lost time due to sickness absence, and reduced work productivity. A person-centered approach that focuses on self-management and a healthy lifestyle is important to restore and maintain function, to improve participation in the long term, and to provide a management plan.

Self-management is defined as “the ability to manage the symptoms, treatment, physical and psychosocial consequences, and lifestyle changes inherent in living with a chronic condition.” Effective self-management is based on skills to actively participate in, and take responsibility for, persistent conditions. Essential self-management skills include problem solving, decision making, resource utilization, action planning, self-tailoring, self-monitoring, and creating a patient-health professional partnership. Physical therapists can provide self-management support that can lead to enhanced self-management skills, self-management behavior, and long-term management of the musculoskeletal disorder.

In this lecture, Nathan Hutting will give an overview on self-management for musculoskeletal disorders, including features of self-management support, an example of a self-management program,  an introduction on a an individualised self-management approach, and a case description.