Up until recently, it was thought that multiple sclerosis was a relatively pain free disease. However, medical professionals now realize that more than half of all patients diagnosed with multiple sclerosis will experience some type of MS pain symptoms. There are a lot of different types of pain that can be experienced. Pain can be more muscular in nature, it can be burning or tingling, or it can be an electric, shocking pain. Some people will experience more than one type of pain throughout the progression of their disease. Some medical professionals recommend that people with multiple sclerosis keep a pain diary in order to keep track of their specific pain symptoms.
Different pain symptoms can be the result of different things going on in the diseased body. For example, a burning or tingling sensation can be caused by the damage done to the nervous system. This damage is due to the demyelination process going on in the body. This process is damaging to the myelin sheath that protects the nerve, which can cause widespread pain. Muscular pain can be caused when someone cannot use the muscles because of demyelination. Lack of use can cause the muscles to become very stiff and sore.
Treatment for MS Pain Symptoms
Now that pain is a recognized symptom of multiple sclerosis, there are many different treatments available. Treating pain symptoms is very important in order to improve a patient’s quality of life. Multiple sclerosis clinics and hospitals can be great places that specialize in the treatment of pain for this specific neurological disorder. They will knowledgeable in the different types of pain that can occur and the different types of treatment options that have shown success in the past. A multiple sclerosis clinic or hospital will also be able to administer the different types of pain treatments, whether they are in the form of oral tablets, injections, or intravenous drips.
Some pain medications do have side effects. Your doctor may want to try different pain medications at different doses to see what works best for your degree of pain with the least amount of side effects. A pain medication should reduce the pain while also having side effects that are tolerable. There are plenty of different pain medications on the market to try, so don’t feel locked into one particular medication just because it was prescribed first. It can be a trial and error process to find the medication for your body and your particular pain symptoms.
