Easing chronic pain for people with Parkinson's

University of South Australia researchers are working on new ways to treat the pain associated with Parkinson’s disease.

In Australia, 100,000 people have Parkinson’s disease, with up to 85% of patients experiencing some form of pain. Yet despite the prevalence of pain in Parkinson’s, in clinical practice it remains under-recognised and under-treated.

According to principal investigator and UniSA PhD candidate Anthony Mezzini, pain is the leading driver of reduced quality of life for people with Parkinson’s.

“Parkinson’s is well known for affecting a person’s ability to control their movements, but what is less well known is that it also causes chronic pain,” he said.

“In people with Parkinson’s, pain can occur in muscles and joints, it can occur in the nervous system and even in internal organs such as the stomach and intestines. As a result, pain can be experienced in almost any part of the body.

“In some cases, the pain is so intolerable and intractable that it overshadows the motor symptoms of the disease.

“In this research, we’re undertaking a comprehensive study of pain experienced by people with Parkinson’s, so that we can develop a deeper understanding of how to best manage pain symptoms and create patient-centred care responses.

“For those who experience chronic pain, it can be a leading driver of reduced quality of life. We want to change this for the better for people with Parkinson’s.”

Parkinson’s disease is a disabling condition that causes motor symptoms (such as slowness of movement, rigidity, tremor and postural instability) and non-motor symptoms (such as depression, anxiety, sleep and gastrointestinal disorders, fatigue, and pain). It usually occurs among older people, but 20% of sufferers are under 50 years old and 10% are diagnosed before 40.

Globally, estimates show that more than 8.5 million people have Parkinson’s disease with the prevalence nearly doubling in the past 25 years. In Australia, 38 people are diagnosed with the condition every day.

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