Category: Parkinson's Disease: Non-Motor Symptoms
Objective: Estimate the importance of back pain (BP) in Parkinson’s disease (PD) and its impact on quality of life.
Background: Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a common and disabling condition in which painful manifestations can precede or initiate the disease. The coexistence of several types of pain makes BP relatively underestimated.
Method: Patients with idiopathic PD referred to the department of neurology of the Military Hospital of Tunis from 2009 to 2020, answered a questionnaire about the existence of back pain using the Mc Gill Pain Questionnaire. Quality of life was assessed by the 8-item Parkinson’s disease questionnaire (PDQ-8).
Results: The study included 136 patients with PD for an average of 5.6 years. Fifty eight patients reported painful symptoms. Of these, 23 had chronic BP, mainly involving the cervical spine (n=16) and the lumbar spine (n=7). Approximately 17 % patients reported onset of BP before diagnosis of PD. Evaluation of pain using Mc Gill Pain Questionnaire showed that the average score was 8,8 (extremes 2 to 20). BP intensity caused functional limitation and negative impact on the quality of life.
Conclusion: BP is common in patients with PD and it cause disability and poor quality of life. More particular attention should be paid to reduce the functional handicap in such patients.
References: [1] Silveira Barezani AL, de Figueiredo Feital AMB, Gonçalves BM, Christo PP, Scalzo PL. Low back pain in Parkinson’s disease: A cross-sectional study of its prevalence, and implications on functional capacity and quality of life. Clin Neurol Neurosurg. 2020 Jul;194:105787. doi: 10.1016/j.clineuro.2020.105787. Epub 2020 Mar 16. PMID: 32244035. [2] Duncan RP, Van Dillen LR, Garbutt JM, Earhart GM, Perlmutter JS. Low Back Pain–Related Disability in Parkinson Disease: Impact on Functional Mobility, Physical Activity, and Quality of Life. Phys Ther. 2019 Oct 28;99(10):1346-1353. doi: 10.1093/ptj/pzz094. PMID: 31343700; PMCID: PMC6821152. [3] Ozturk EA, Kocer BG. Predictive risk factors for chronic low back pain in Parkinson’s disease. Clin Neurol Neurosurg. 2018 Jan;164:190-195. doi: 10.1016/j.clineuro.2017.12.011. Epub 2017 Dec 11. PMID: 29272805. [4] Rommel O, Wejwer D, Schybek K, Przybilski T, Jäger G, Gräber S, Berg D. Lendenwirbelsäulenschmerzen bei Patienten mit Morbus Parkinson [Lumbar back pain in patients with Parkinson’s disease]. Nervenarzt. 2016 Apr;87(4):418-25. German. doi: 10.1007/s00115-015-0060-2. PMID: 26842900.
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
B. Douma, I. Bedoui, M. Elfekih, H. Derbali, A. Riahi, M. Messelmani, M. Mansour, J. Zaouali, R. Mrissa. Back pain in Parkinson’s disease: an underestimated problem [abstract]. Mov Disord. 2021; 36 (suppl 1). https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/back-pain-in-parkinsons-disease-an-underestimated-problem/. Accessed June 14, 2025.« Back to MDS Virtual Congress 2021
MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/back-pain-in-parkinsons-disease-an-underestimated-problem/