Today’s the deadline for your April Pain-Blog Carnival submission.

A reader, Lynn, writes “I would be interested in a feature related to multiple sclerosis and chronic pain.  Thank you for the empowerment and humanity your website provides – as always, knowledge is power.”

Knowledge can indeed be powerful to help people understand, manage and cope with their illnesses.  I’m glad you find How to Cope with Pain helpful!

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a neurological disease that causes weakness and movement problems.  The underlying process is a deterioration in the covering around nerves, which makes nerve signals slow down.  A less well-known symptom is pain – which 70% of patients with MS have.  And almost ½ of patients have chronic pain.

There are several different types of pain which can occur in MS.   Let’s look at these:

1.  Pain can occur from muscle spasms, tight and aching joints, and back or musculoskeletal pain.  Anti-inflammatory medication (e.g. Motrin), massage, and physical therapy can help these symtpoms.

2.  MS can have intense but brief pains, which can be burning, tingling, shooting, or stabbing.  MS can also have trigeminal neuralgia or “tic doloureux,” which is a stabbing pain in the face.  Lhermitte’s sign is a brief, stabbing, electric-shock-like sensation that runs from the back of the head down the spine, brought on by bending the neck forward.

3.  MS can also create “central pain,” which means the cause is disease in the brain itself.  This pain is often wide-spread and fluctuates.

4.  Pain sensations around a patient’s trunk, called “girdling.”  These can be burning, aching, or strange, uncomfortable sensations.

As you can see, there are several types of pain in MS, which have different causes.  Treatment would depend on making a careful diagnosis.  For more info, here are 2 helpful websites:

• National MS Society
• National Institute of Health

Have a question?  Send yours in here.

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