Chronic pain in persons with neuromuscular disease

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Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2005 Jun;86(6):1155-63.

Chronic pain in persons with neuromuscular disease.

Jensen MP, Abresch RT, GT, Mc CM.

Objective: To examine the nature and scope of pain in persons with

neuromuscular disorder (NMD). Design Survey study. Setting University-

based rehabilitation research programs. Participants Adults with NMD

(N=193). Interventions Not applicable.

Main Outcome: Measures Pain presence or absence, pain severity, pain

quality (Neuropathic Pain Scale), pain interference (Brief Pain

Inventory), pain site, quality of life (Medical Outcomes Study 36-

Item Short-Form Health Survey [sF-36]), and pain treatment.

Results: 73% of the sample reported pain, with 27% of these reporting

that this pain was severe (>/=7 on a 0-10 scale), on

verage. " Deep, " " tiring, " " sharp, " and " dull " were the words used

most frequently to describe NMD pain. Patients with amyotrophic

lateral sclerosis and myotonic muscular dystrophies reported the

greatest pain interference, and patients with Charcot-Marie-Tooth the

least, among all NMD diagnoses.

The most frequent pain site, overall, was back (49%), followed by leg

(47%), shoulder (43%), neck (40%), buttock and hip(s) (37%), feet

(36%), arm(s) (36%), and hand(s) (35%).

The study participants reported significantly greater dysfunction

than subjects in the SF-36 normative sample (persons without health

problems) on a number of the SF-36 scales.

However, we found no significant differences between the study

participants and the US norms on the SF-36 role-emotional or mental

health scales. A number of pain treatments were used by the study

sample, but no treatment appeared to be effective for all

participants, and some of the treatments reported as most effective

(eg, chiropractic care) were used by very few participants.

Conclusions: Pain is a common problem among patients with NMDs. There

are many similarities, but also some important differences, between

NMD diagnostic groups on the nature and scope of pain and its impact.

More research is needed to identify and test effective treatments for

NMD-related pain.