Chronic pain is common in various neuromuscular diseases. However, not much is known about it in people with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). We studied how often chronic pain occurs in children, teenagers and adults with SMA and what factors influence this pain. We analyzed data from 141 patients from the Swiss Registry for Neuromuscular Disorders. 62% of teenagers, 48% of adults, 39% of children aged 6-12 years and 10% of children under 6 years reported suffering from chronic pain. The most frequent pain was in the legs, back and hips. Females, teenagers and people with scoliosis (with surgery) or contractures were more likely to have chronic pain. These results help us to better understand chronic pain in people with SMA. They show that it is necessary to assess and manage chronic pain in people with SMA.
This study has been published here: Chronic Pain in Patients with Spinal Muscular Atrophy in Switzerland: A Query to the Spinal Muscular Atrophy Registry