Disease burden in neuromuscular disease: the role of chronic pain

Abstract

This article reviews the evidence showing that chronic pain is a significant problem for patients with neuromuscular disease (NMD). Future directions are discussed, including the need for studies addressing the degree to which chronic pain contributes to disease burden and how psychosocial factors influence the experience of pain and its impact. Better measurement tools for chronic pain, quality of life, and burden of disease are needed and could be used via NMD registries to address the knowledge gap in this area.