Pain is one of the leading causes for patients’ motivation for seeking medical diagnosis and treatment. When collaborating with the World Health Organization (WHO), International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) Taskforce proposed that chronic primary pain is a disease instead of a symptom.

This has led to the updating of The International Classification of Disease (ICD-11). Amongst organs and tissues throughout the body the musculoskeletal system plays a variety of significant roles in individuals’ quality of daily life. However, the etiology of musculoskeletal pain in terms of genetic, molecular, transcriptional, posttranscriptional regulation, and environmental factors remains to be elusive. Therefore, it remains challenging for investigators and physicians at various subjects, including universal classification schemes, diagnostic modalities and criteria, and traditional and advanced treatment strategies aiming for eradicating pain.

Therefore, this special issue aims to provide insight on recent research and management in musculoskeletal pain, with advances in labs, diagnostic imaging, and clinical studies.

As such, submissions within the scope of musculoskeletal pain are invited. In particular, we encourage in-depth mechanistic studies using clinical available human samples, review articles reflecting state-of-the-art knowledge within the scope, imaging studies using novel techniques, and management studies with novel and meaningful techniques. Chinese Medicine research papers will also be considered.

Potential topics include but are not limited to the following:

• Mechanistic, genetic, and molecular profiling studies in musculoskeletal pain
• Nerve control in musculoskeletal pain
• Diagnostic imaging modalities in musculoskeletal pain
• Therapeutic advances in musculoskeletal pain
• Chinese Medicine for musculoskeletal pain research and management