My husband has PD and I can tell you that his body aches nearly
every day. As a matter of fact it was an odd sensation/pain running up his thumb that took him to the doctor for a diagnosis.When you think about the variety of PD symptoms it is not surprising that there would be pain associated with increasing muscle stiffness. Although not everyone experiences all of the wide assortment of symptoms, as the disease progresses, probably every PWP will experience stiffness. And with the stiffness, the dystonias - the unwilled muscle contraction - comes twisting and pain, cramping and pain. But there's more.
The body posture of the Parkinson's shuffle can cause pain in the neck, shoulders, back, hips as the body maligns itself. Headaches are another result of this kind of pain.
PD pain can come from non-motor areas as well. There is neuropathic pain which can cause tingling, burning, numbness, sharp pain. The Parkinson's Disease Foundation breaks the causes of PD pain into five areas: Musculoskeletal, Non-Motor, Dystonia, Akathisia "discomfort due to extreme restlessness" and "a rare pain syndrome known as "primary" or "central" pain, arising from the brain." Depression can also cause and/or heighten sensitivity to pain.
Pain is not a punishment for having a disease. It is a symptom and/or a side effect and it should be addressed by you and your doctor. In some cases pain could be a side effect of medication or medication "off" times but by adjusting the dosage the pain can be lessened.
Lowering stress levels can also reduce pain. Adjusting the body through exercise and massage therapy can make a real difference. To counteract the pain of rigidity, my husband goes to exercise therapy and gets a weekly massage specifically addressing the target points of his stiffness: his bad side shoulder, neck and left leg in the course of the full massage. In between we have small hand held massagers that really do help his neck and shoulder even when only used for a few minutes at a time. At night he uses a heated mattress pad. Electric blankets don't work as well here because dogs have an affinity for chewing them...don't ask.He does his breathing and voice exercises but not as often as he should. He does those not only to be heard and understood but to avoid the panic of choking and the fear of dying that way. So he is relieving a stress producer as well.
I can't stress the importance of exercise to stretch the muscles, help the body resist the stiffness, punch up the endorphins, resist the pain. Nor can I overstress the need to warm up slowly...not to hyper-extend...because you've already got enough pain. About exercise: ease into it and then persist. You may see some results and then plateau - that doesn't mean it isn't working. Just stay at it. But mean it. Don't just go for the motions. Don't lie to yourself. Don't be an exercise potato. You actually have to work at it. Otherwise you might as well just watch a a cooking show instead of an exercise video.
Who would have suspected that the PD associated sleep disorders might actually be a contributory factor to increased pain. A cancer pain study conducted in Tennessee recently demonstrated that lack of sleep/sleep disorders may make pain worse in cancer rather than the other way around which was expected.
Successful Deep Brain Surgery can result in the reduction of both meds and symptoms. This reduction can mean a reduction of pain or the absence of pain. Permanent acupuncture can also result in a reduction of symptoms and consequently... There are other therapies in the pipeline which may seriously impact symptoms with the same pain reduction ensuing.
A few words about TENs machines (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation) I can't find anyone who has had success, including Steve, using one. If you have used one, we'd all like to read about your experience in the comments section.
We know that cannabinoids and cannabis components do assist with certain kinds of symptom relief as an anti-spasmodic and muscle relaxant. Parkinson's Disease is on the medical marijuana list in the states which have that understanding. In a 2004 study which involved THC, a cannabis component, demonstrated the possibility that it will help with PD pain as well as ALS spasms. At present Riluzole (the only FDA approved med for ALS) extends life from 2 - 3 months. In mouse studies, THC prolonged life for a human equivalent of 3 years or more. There are several cannabinoid receptors in the human body waiting to help with pain and stress reduction.
Laughter is a great stress reliever. If you've ever laughed with your entire body and soul, you know what I mean. You feel
euphoric afterwards. Because that laugh really got your endorphins going. With those natural pain killers aroused everything else disappeared into the background for a few minutes. The smiles can come from whatever, wherever. We need them. For big smiles I go outside to watch the dogs play together. Sometime Rita picks up one of her stuffed toys just to get Harry to chase her or play tug of war...which accounts for the loose heads, limbs and stuffing around the yard. The day she "found" the dead squirrel, I quickly called a halt to that tug of war...but we were laughing anyway.So when you hear people say that you need a sense of humor to have Parkinson's, they're not kidding around...or maybe they are.
references and additional reading:
http://www.pdf.org/pdf/Pain%20in%20PD.pdf
http://www.cmellc.com/geriatrictimes/g001029.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laughter
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