Role of calcitonin in management of musculoskeletal pain

Calcitonin was discovered more than 40 years ago and the scientific community continues to debate the primary and secondary pharmacological actions of calcitonin. Presently calcitonin is accepted by agencies only for treatment of osteoporosis, but many studies have indicated an effect on pain in many different experimental settings both pre-clinically and clinically. The effects of calcitonin on clinical pain conditions have received increasing attention in the past decades, although a consensus on mode of action and potential indications still has to be reached. Several key advances in the pain field may enable a deeper understanding of the putative analgesic effects of calcitonin. Most studies have focused on the effect of calcitonin on musculoskeletal pain problems. Ample lines of independent evidence suggest that calcitonin exerts putative analgesic effects. Well-designed clinical trials, particularly in the field of musculoskeletal pain, are needed to validate fragmented evidence of analgesic actions. This in combination with advanced mechanism-based pain assessment tools can provide new insight into the role of calcitonin, alone or in combination with other compounds, in management of pain.