Chronic pain in multiple sclerosis: A 10-year longitudinal study

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Pain is a common symptom associated with multiple sclerosis (MS), and has lasting effects on an individual's functional capacity and quality of life. A wide range of prevalence rates of pain (between 23% and 90% )have been reported in MS and this is mainly due to the methodological differences amongst the studies such as variability in patient sources, method of sampling and the definition of pain used. Chronic pain in MS, defined as pain lasting for greater than 3-6 months, can have a significant impact on their biopsychosocial health, including negative impact on activities of daily living, relationships and social participation. The long-term course of MS-related p..