BACKGROUND: Chronic and diffuse pain is present either in Repetitive Strain Injuries (RSI)/Work-related Musculoskeletal Disorders (WMSD) and Fibromyalgia, leading to difficulties in determining preventive and therapeutic measures by health professionals who deals with patients presenting these disorders. OBJECTIVES: Analyze the relevant aspects in the emission of the diagnosis of WMSD and Fibromyalgia in the perception of physicians assistants and experts. METHODS: In this study 75 physicians (36 assistants and 39 experts) answered structured and open questions about aspects that they consider relevant to the establishment of diagnosis. RESULTS: Results were correlated by Spearman's test (α=0.05) and submitted to the Collective Subject's Speech method. Assistant physicians tended to emphasize the factor "clinical conditions and time elapsed", whilst expert tended to indicate "occupational history" for definition of the WMSD diagnosis. For the diagnosis of Fibromyalgia, experts physicians tended to emphasize the factor "amount of tender points", whilst the assistant physicians indicated "pain characteristics". Despite of these slight discrepancies, the results from both groups were highly correlated (r=0.85; p=0.01) when participants were asked to indicate common and different relevant aspects for the diagnosis of both syndromes. Furthermore, the physicians agreed about the necessity of risk investigation at work for a more accurate diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS: In order to standardize preventative and therapeutic measures adopted by physicians, physiotherapist and other professional evolved with these syndromes it would be advisable to make the international criteria for Fibromyalgia diagnosis better know, and also to provide better training on the identification of the adverse effects of inadequate work conditions on the musculoskeletal system to health professional.
chronic pain; diagnosis; preventive measures
