Is multiple sclerosis painful?

As an autoimmune disease, multiple sclerosis (MS) can cause much discomfort throughout a person’s life. From cognition to spasticity, MSers can experience a variety of effects on the body – but pain is most likely one of the worst and debilitating.

What counts as MS pain?

Those with MS can experience a wide range of pain, much like the array of symptoms. MS-UK conducted a survey to work out what types the community experience and some of the most common included

• Pins and needles, mainly in hands and feet
• Numbness, often arms and legs
• Sensitive skin, making touch painful
• Aching, all over the body or in specific places and groups of muscles

Pains experienced are placed into two categories, acute and chronic. For pain to be acute, it needs to be sharp and shooting – the probability of it staying for a long time is minimal and is intermittent. Chronic pain, on the other hand, must have lasted for over a month and never disappears (it can still fluctuate in intensity).

Common types of pain

There are a multitude of pain types experienced by MSers, some of which include

Spasms and spasticity

Often experienced in the legs, jolting in an involuntary way can cause a lot of discomfort for an MS patient. This spasm is caused by a disruption in signals traveling from the brain to the bottom of the spinal cord that control the legs. There are medications available to help treat this type of pain which can make a big difference in its management.

Musculoskeletal pain

This kind of pain isn’t anything like neuropathic pain, it mainly causes discomfort to joints, bones and muscles. This is quite often treated by using physiotherapy and exercise to loosen up and strengthen muscle groups. You can also manage this by taking over-the-counter pain killers (your GP can also prescribe more effective anti-inflammatory drugs if necessary).

Optic neuritis

This is an acute neuropathic pain behind the eyes and a common first symptom of MS. Steroids are frequently used to help with this inflammation but should improve over time without any treatment.

Managing pain

Aside from traditional medications, there are a few different ways you can manage MS pain

Complementary therapies

These kinds of therapies can include acupuncture, taking nutritional supplements and spinal manipulation for example. Plenty of MSers utilise these alongside medications or instead of them to manage their pain but you may have to pay additionally for these. MS-UK’s online activities

Mindfulness

Learning to think differently about pain by using mindfulness is a great way to manage it. Understanding your emotional thoughts around the sensation of pain can help minimise catastrophic thinking, subsequently improving your quality of life. Meditation is a good practice, but there are loads out there to try – it’s a case of working out which ones are best for you.

Cannabis  

Studies have been carried out around cannabis for managing MS symptoms and under strict criteria it can be prescribed on the NHS but only for help with spasticity. Evidence has suggested that its usage by MS patients can make a positive impact on chronic pain as well. This may be an avenue to consider for pain management if you can access it.

We’ve only scratched the surface of MS and pain in this blog but if you’d like to learn more then we have more information in our dedicated choices booklet. There you will find more in-depth topics that are sure to be of interest to any MSer, just click the button below to start reading!