Pain in one or more joints is a daily reality for as many as two-thirds of patients with severe hemophilia. Pain is therefore a critical aspect of hemophilia and adds to the burden of the disease. Effective pain management is essential to improve quality of life; however, the selection and application of appropriate pain therapies in hemophilia is still a challenge.
In hemophilia, episodes of bleeding in the joints and muscles can cause acute pain. The pain, if not adequately relieved, can interfere with healing and turn acute pain into a chronic issue. Chronic pain in hemophilia is recurrent and usually results from arthropathy or other long-term complications of the disease. It is critical to remember, however, that pain can be managed and that there is no need to suffer in silence.
In addition, you can greatly benefit from sports, or even simply doing any type of exercise. In addition, effective prophylaxis is essential to prevent or reduce the frequency of bleeding, while timely treatment of acute bleeding ensures rapid resolution of bleeding and, in turn, pain relief.
Few studies exist on the pharmacological management of pain in patients with hemophilia. In a European survey, paracetamol appeared to be the only analgesic routinely used in 22 hemophilia treatment centers considered, and its use was recommended for acute and chronic pain in both adults and children.
It is worth noting that patients often use factor replacement for pain relief, and an analgesic effect of factor VIII has been reported.
References
Pain and pain management in haemophilia, Gu ̈nter Auerswald, Gerry Dolan, Anne Duffy, Cedric Hermans, Victor Jime ́nez-Yuste, Rolf Ljung, Massimo Morfini, Thierry Lamberth and Silva Zupancˇ ic ́ Sˇ alek, Blood Coagul Fibrinolysis, doi: 10.1097/MBC.0000000000000571.
