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Post-Stroke Pain: 5 Common Types and the Benefits of Early Intervention Care
A stroke can affect more than just mobility and speech. It can also cause persistent pain. Post-stroke pain may not appear immediately, but when it does, it can interfere with recovery and dramatically lower your quality of life.
Take a moment as Bradley A. Silva, MD, and the Lakeshore Pain and Spine Center team in Kenosha, Wisconsin, explain five common types of post-stroke pain and the benefits of early intervention care.
Five common types of post-stroke pain
Post-stroke pain gets commonly diagnosed through a combination of medical history, physical examination, imaging studies, and a review of your symptoms. It is broken down further into one of the following five types of post-stroke pain:
1. Central post-stroke pain (CPSP)
Damage to the brain’s sensory pathways causes this nerve-related pain. It may feel like burning, tingling, or shooting pain on one side of the body. CPSP can be hard to diagnose, but it’s often chronic and complex to manage without medical help.
CPSP typically develops three to six months after a stroke.
2. Hemiplegic shoulder pain
Hemiplegic shoulder pain is one of the most common types of musculoskeletal pain after stroke. It’s often due to muscle weakness, joint instability, or nerve injury in the shoulder on the affected side.
About 80% of stroke survivors experience hemiplegic shoulder pain, and it can pop up as early as two weeks post-stroke.
3. Spasticity-related pain
Spasticity happens when your muscles become stiff or involuntarily contract after a stroke. This muscle tightness can cause pain, cramping, or discomfort in your arms or legs.
4. Joint and soft tissue pain
Limited movement and muscle weakness after a stroke can lead to strain in other parts of your body. You may develop pain in the hips, knees, or back as a result of compensating for weakness on one side.
5. Headaches and migraines
Some stroke survivors experience chronic headaches or migraines, especially if the stroke affected certain parts of the brain or resulted from a hemorrhage.
Benefits of early intervention
The longer post-stroke pain goes untreated, the more likely it is to become chronic and challenging to manage.
For example, only 30% of people with CPSP receive care when their post-stroke symptoms are acute, leaving the remaining 70% with an increased risk of chronic pain, sleep disturbances, depression, and even suicide. This statistic underscores the importance of timely care.
Early intervention can help:
- Improve your quality of life
- Prevent the development of secondary issues (like depression or immobility)
- Support better long-term outcomes
- Create a pain management plan to your specific needs
The bottom line: If you or a loved one suffers a stroke, don’t wait until post-stroke pain spirals out of control.
What does early intervention for post-stroke pain include?
Post-stroke pain can be complex, but you don’t have to go it alone. Dr. Silva, double board-certified anesthesiology and pain medicine physician, offers a variety of treatments to help manage your symptoms and improve your quality of life.
Depending on the type and severity of the pain, Dr. Silva may recommend medications like over-the-counter pain relievers or prescription drugs for more intense symptoms.
Besides medication, Dr. Silva may recommend:
- Physical therapy
- Occupational therapy
- Psychological approaches, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy or relaxation techniques, to address the emotional impact of chronic pain
- Interventional pain procedures
Dr. Silva performs most interventional pain procedures in Kenosha, Wisconsin, at our onsite procedure suite.
Get help for post-stroke pain
If you or a loved one is dealing with pain after a stroke, don’t wait. The sooner you address it, the more options you have to improve comfort and function. Contact Lakeshore Pain and Spine Center today to schedule a consultation, or call Dr. Silva at 262-484-4035.