Pain
About a third of people affected by MS experience pain at some time.
It varies from person to person and over time, but drug treatments and other therapies can help you cope.
Pain can be one of the most difficult ’invisible’ symptoms to describe. Pain might feel like squeezing, crushing, cold, hot, stabbing or burning, or a tightness in the chest known as the MS hug.
Only the person experiencing pain knows how it feels. It has an emotional element – it can cause distress, fear, anger and frustration which in turn affect how you deal with it.
Pain may be caused directly, due to nerve damage, or indirectly, due to other MS symptoms. It could also be caused by side effects of drugs or other conditions.
Neuropathic pain is caused by MS
nerve damage in the brain and spinal cord. Musculoskeletal pain is the pain in muscles and joints that comes from living with the stresses MS puts on the body.
Health teams and pain clinics can help manage pain. Drug treatments can make a difference, as well as other therapies.
