FSEM MSK Diploma study guide
FSEM MSK Diploma · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The Diploma in Musculoskeletal Medicine (DipMSK) is an examination-based qualification from the Faculty of Sport and Exercise Medicine UK. It assesses applied knowledge and clinical problem-solving in musculoskeletal medicine, particularly for primary care and community settings. It is aimed at doctors, including GPs and GPs working in extended roles, and allied health professionals moving towards advanced practice, such as extended-scope physiotherapists and advanced nurse practitioners. Eligibility also covers HCPC-registered physiotherapists and AHPs, NMC-registered advanced nurse practitioners with primary care experience, and internationally registered clinicians, with other cases considered individually. The FSEM MSK Diploma study guide has 5 sections and about 1,552 words.
01Musculoskeletal Assessment and Diagnosis
Assessment is not a test-collection ritual but a sequence of hypothesis tests. Begin with the clinical picture - age, onset, loading history, irritability, night pain, systemic features - and let it set a pre-test probability that you then refine.
321 words, about 2 min02Musculoskeletal Management and Rehabilitation
Rehabilitation is dose-dependent. Name the FITT-VP variables explicitly - frequency, intensity, time, type, volume, progression - and define intensity for resistance work as %1RM or RPE, and for aerobic work as %HRmax or RPE.
295 words, about 1 min03Rheumatology and Persistent Pain
Inflammatory back pain: insidious onset, age under 45, morning stiffness over 30 minutes, improvement with exercise, night pain, good response to NSAIDs. Axial spondyloarthritis is diagnosed from imaging plus clinical features (ASAS criteria), not HLA-B27 alone.
311 words, about 2 min04Sport, Exercise and Physical Activity Medicine
Know the public health dose: 150–300 minutes per week of moderate aerobic activity, or 75–150 minutes of vigorous activity, plus muscle-strengthening work twice weekly, and reduced sedentary time. The same message applies across most chronic disease and in pregnancy, with individual adjustment.
294 words, about 1 min05Professional Practice, Guidelines and Evidence-Based Care
Valid consent requires capacity, adequate information and voluntariness. Following Montgomery, the standard is the patient's perspective: disclose material risks that a reasonable person in their position would want to know, including alternatives and the option of doing nothing.
331 words, about 2 min