A South Korean team interviewed 148 boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy with an average age of 14.5 years:
- 86 boys had lost walking: 35 were younger than 15 years (recent non-ambulatory) and 51 were 15 years or older (“old” non-ambulatory); 62 were ambulatory;
- 45% of the participants had moderate pain in the previous 4 weeks, with no difference in prevalence between the three groups or according to the presence of scoliosis or retractions;
- the “old” non-ambulatory group, however, reported pain more frequently (“every day”) than the other two groups who reported pain “several times a week”;
- the pain most often reported in the ambulant group concerned the calves and was worsened by walking; rest and massage helped to relieve it;
- lumbosacral, gluteal, thoracic and abdominal pain was most frequently experienced in the “old” non-ambulatory group; it was aggravated by sitting and relieved by changing position.
Pain is a symptom that can be present at all stages of Duchenne disease: it must be evaluated and managed in order to reduce its impact on the mood, especially in the later stages of the disease.