The term pain covers various physical sensations ranging from uncomfortable through to intense. This can include sensations like numbness and tingling, or feelings of aching and throbbing. Pain is common in MS and can have a big impact on your everyday life.
This page will help you identify what type of pain you're experiencing. It suggests ways you can explain your pain to a health professional. We also cover the causes of MS pain and how common it is.
No two people experience MS pain in the same way. Pain can be annoying, uncomfortable or very intense. It can have a big impact on you and your life and be invisible to those around you. But there are drug treatments, therapies and self-management approaches that can help to relieve your pain and reduce its impact on your life.
There are two main types of pain in multiple sclerosis. They both have different causes.
Nerve pain happens because of MS damage to the covering of nerves (myelin) in the brain and spinal cord. Nerve pain can occur anywhere in your body, but pain in the limbs is very common.
Altered sensations, trigeminal neuralgia, Lhermitte's sign, optic neuritis, and the MS hug are types of nerve pain.
Read more about nerve pain and how it's treated
Musculoskeletal pain happens when muscles, tendons, ligaments or soft tissue are damaged. Musculoskeletal pain in MS feels like the pain from common injuries unrelated to MS, such as a sprain or pulled muscle.
This type of pain can be caused by other MS symptoms, such as muscle stiffness and spasms. Other symptoms like weakness or balance problems can change how you walk. This may cause hip or back pain.
Read more about musculoskeletal pain and how it's treated
Pain is a common symptom in multiple sclerosis. It may occur at any point, although not everyone with MS will experience pain.
Pain is difficult to define in MS so estimates vary as to how common these symptoms are, although some reports suggest that up to 4 in every 5 people with MS may experience pain at some stage. Some types of pain such as headaches and back pain are common, even in people who don't have MS.
Altered sensations and pain caused by muscle stiffness and spasms are the most common types of pain reported by people with MS.
Research suggests that pain is more common in people with MS who smoke or are very overweight (obese). People who are more active seem to report pain less. Research also shows that a healthy diet, and a healthy lifestyle overall, are linked to reduced levels of pain.
Some research suggests that pain is more common in people with progressive MS and their pain is more likely to be continuous. Whereas people with relapsing MS are more likely to report pain that comes and goes (intermittent).
Pain is often described by how long it lasts.
Acute pain begins suddenly and then improves or disappears. It may reappear from time to time. It is usually an intense, sharp, burning or shooting feeling.
Chronic pain (also known as persistent or long-term pain) is longer lasting pain that's been present for more than three months. It may feel better at some times than others but never goes away completely.
Paroxysmal symptoms begin suddenly and only last for a few seconds or a few minutes at most. However, they may reappear a few times or many times a day in similar short bursts.
Pain in multiple sclerosis can feel very odd and seem difficult to explain.
Some common descriptions people use to explain what nerve pain feels like are:
People with musculoskeletal pain may describe their pain as:
It may surprise you to see some of these sensations referred to as pain. When you get odd feelings for the first time, like crawling or tingling, you might not automatically think of them as a type of pain, but that’s how health professionals describe them.
You may have a totally different description for your pain. Some sensations are particularly difficult to describe and people with MS sometimes worry that they won’t be believed. However, pain and unusual sensations are common in MS and treatment should be discussed with your health professionals in the same way as for any other symptom.
You can help your health professionals by describing what you are experiencing clearly where possible. This can help them understand what it feels like for you and any effect it is having on your everyday life.
You could say:
You might also like to think about the following.
This information can help health professionals work out why you may be experiencing pain and what type of MS pain it might be. This will help to ensure you're given the right treatment options for your pain.
You may experience pain for reasons that are unrelated to your MS. It's good to be aware of this and not assume that everything is MS related.
Speak to your doctor if you experience new pain or if your pain is getting worse despite treatment. They can check and rule out other causes.
Not all pain requires treatment; it depends on the cause and how much of an impact it is having on your life.
You'll need an assessment to decide whether your pain is nerve pain, musculoskeletal pain or might be due to causes other than MS. This may be carried out by a neurologist, MS nurse, physiotherapist, or occupational therapist, amongst others. It depends on the type of pain and the likely choice of treatment.
Treating and managing pain often involves a combination of approaches. This can include drug treatments, therapies and self-management approaches.
Managing pain as well as possible often means trying a range of approaches to see which ones work best for you. You may need to try several strategies at once to get the best overall effect.
If you're concerned about your pain, contact your MS team for support or speak to your GP.
Nerve pain and musculoskeletal pain are treated differently. The pages below discuss the treatment options for these types of pain.
