Muscle pain

Dear Bird,

Thanks for getting in touch with us and welcome to our online community. I hope you find it a helpful and supportive way to communicate with others. My name is Joanne and I’m one of the Cancer Information Nurse Specialist’s on the  Macmillan Support Line.

I’m sorry to hear that you are experiencing muscle pain after chemotherapy. As you are still on treatment, we would always advise that you report this pain to your specialist team, they will then be able to assess the cause of the pain and help you with managing it.

If the pain is difficult to control your specialist team may be able to refer you to a Pain Clinic to be seen by specialists in this field who may have different options to help with your pain.

TENS machines send small electrical currents to the affected area interrupting the pain signals that the brain receives. They are not suitable for everyone (especially if you have any metal medical devices such as pacemakers) so we would suggest you check with your specialist team that they are happy for you to try TENS. They do help some people but not all will see an improvement and often work best when used alongside conventional pain medication.

You mention that you are considering buying a machine. Your hospital may be able to loan you a machine for a fixed time so you could check if it works for you. Alternatively, there are commercial companies that loan the machines, again giving you a chance to try before committing to buying a machine.

Some people also find they benefit from complimentary therapies. These therapies often help with both physical symptoms and psychological impacts of cancer treatments.

 If there is anything else we can help you with please, feel free to get back in touch.

Best wishes

Joanne, Cancer Information Nurse Specialist

You can also speak with the Macmillan Support Line team of experts. Phone free on 0808 808 0000 (7 days a week, 8am-8pm) or send us an email.

Ref/ JF/Lrob