7 Advances in Multiple Sclerosis Pain Management You Should Know

Studies estimate that between 50% and 75% of people with multiple sclerosis experience chronic pain at some point in the course of the disease, and for many, it’s one of the most debilitating aspects of living with the condition.

Some people experience neuropathic pain, a burning, stabbing, or electric shock-like sensation caused by damaged nerve fibers sending faulty signals. Others deal with musculoskeletal pain from the strain that muscle weakness and abnormal movement patterns put on the body over time.  

In more advanced cases, the combination of these pain types can significantly affect mobility, sleep, mental health, and overall quality of life. 

There is currently no cure for multiple sclerosis. But pain management for MS has advanced considerably in recent years, and there are now more effective options available than ever before. 

Working with a pain management specialist gives you access to the full range of those options and a treatment plan that addresses your specific symptoms rather than a one-size-fits-all approach. 

If MS pain is affecting your daily life, our team at SEPA Pain & Spine with six locations in southeastern Pennsylvania can assess what you’re dealing with and put together a management plan that treats your symptoms effectively. 

Here, we cover seven of the most significant advances in MS pain management and what they mean for people living with this condition.

Better medications for nerve pain

Nerve pain doesn’t respond well to standard pain relievers. The medications that work on it target the nervous system more specifically. 

Drugs like gabapentin and pregabalin calm overactive nerve signals, while certain antidepressants, particularly those in the SNRI class, have shown strong effectiveness for nerve pain in people with MS. 

Cannabis-based treatments

Cannabis-based medicines have become a legitimate and evidence-supported option for MS-related pain and muscle spasticity. 

A mouth spray combining THC and CBD has been approved in several countries, specifically for people with MS whose spasticity hasn’t responded adequately to other treatments. Clinical trials show meaningful reductions in muscle spasms and associated pain. 

Implanted pumps for severe spasticity

For people with severe muscle spasticity that oral medications haven’t controlled adequately, an implanted pump that delivers muscle relaxant medication directly to the fluid around the spinal cord is an option that produces significantly better results. 

Because the medication goes straight to where it’s needed rather than through the bloodstream, it works at much lower doses and causes far fewer side effects than taking the same medication orally. 

Spinal cord stimulation

Spinal cord stimulation involves placing small electrodes near the spinal cord that deliver mild electrical impulses, disrupting pain signals before they reach the brain. You control the device externally and can adjust it to your needs. 

It’s a well-established technique in pain management that has shown strong results for MS-related nerve pain that hasn’t responded to medication. 

Noninvasive brain stimulation

Transcranial magnetic stimulation uses magnetic fields to stimulate specific areas of the brain involved in pain processing, reducing the way the brain amplifies pain signals, which happens frequently in MS. It’s noninvasive, performed in an outpatient setting, and requires no anesthesia. 

The research into its use for MS pain is still developing, but results so far are encouraging, particularly for people who want to reduce their reliance on medication or haven’t responded well to other treatments.

Multidisciplinary pain management

One of the most important shifts in how MS pain is managed is the move toward treating it from multiple angles at once rather than relying on medication alone. Physical therapy maintains strength and flexibility, reducing the muscle pain that builds up from abnormal movement patterns. 

Psychological support (particularly cognitive behavioral therapy) has strong evidence for reducing the impact of chronic pain on daily life by changing how patients respond to it. Occupational therapy helps adapt daily activities to reduce pain triggers.

Personalized treatment plans

MS affects every person differently, and so does the pain it causes. The type, location, and severity vary considerably from person to person, which means a treatment plan that works well for one person may do very little for another. 

With personalized pain management, you spend less time on approaches that aren’t likely to work.

MS pain is complex, but the options for managing it have never been better. If MS pain is affecting your quality of life, call us today to schedule a consultation at any of our offices in Horsham, Langhorne, Meadowbrook, Chalfont, East Norriton, or Limerick in southeastern Pennsylvania. You can also request one online here.