Chronic pain is difficult to treat, but when the pain is linked to an illness such as multiple sclerosis (MS), pain can become even more difficult to manage. Chronic illnesses like MS don’t have a cure, which means that the root cause of the pain that someone is experiencing cannot be resolved.
This does not mean that chronic pain cannot be managed, however. In fact, a new study indicates that staying physically active can go a long way toward helping to manage the chronic pain that someone with MS might experience.
Widespread pain with nociplastic features (WPNF) is a common event for those that are suffering from MS. For this study, this was the type of chronic pain that was examined. It is chronic and it is diffuse, meaning that it is all over the body or not specific to one area. For this reason, it can be very hard for patients to describe, and thus hard for doctors to know what to do about it.
When it comes to MS, pain occurs because of altered nerve signals. There’s no direct cause or reason for the pain to exist, meaning that there’s no injury or inflammation present that should cause the pain. That doesn’t mean that the pain isn’t real, though. Exercise can help to manage pain, but because of the fact that the pain exists, it can be very hard to take those first steps. Hopefully, this research leads to better methods of helping those in this kind of situation.
This research comes out of the University of Michigan. The team was quick to acknowledge that exercise is tough for many people and that extra supports like physical therapy will be needed to make activity a reality for some. The team published their findings in the Journal of Pain. Hopefully, it helps to advance the study of MS and help those that are impacted to live a higher quality of life despite the difficulties that they might face.
The research is one more piece of evidence that underscores just how important exercise and activity is for the human body and brain. When it comes to MS, it’s not without difficulties, of course. One of the symptoms that is typically of MS is that movement, balance, and coordination become increasingly difficult as the disease progresses. This naturally makes staying active more and more difficult over time. Also, there are multiple causes of chronic pain. What impacts one person with MS might not necessarily be the same root cause of pain in another. There are also comorbidities that can impact this. Exercise and activity are certainly important, but they are big challenges in themselves for many people struggling with MS, pain, and other health issues.
Senior care isn’t specifically designed to help manage chronic pain, but there are elements of it that can certainly play a helpful role. We would love to talk more with you about how in-home care might be able to enhance the quality of life that you and your loved ones experience. Give us a call to schedule a conversation.
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