How Parasites Cause Pain in Multiple Sclerosis

If you’re living with MS pain, there is tremendous hope. Parasites—not the immune system—are the real root cause of pain in MS. Various parasites have been shown to cause headaches, back pain, spasms, burning nerve pain (neuropathy), trigeminal neuralgia, optic neuritis and MS hug. Pain is often worse at night because parasites are more active at night. But the good news is that recovery is possible when the parasites are treated effectively.

Understanding Pain in MS: What’s Really Causing It?

🔹 Common Pain Symptoms in MS:

• Trigeminal Neuralgia – sharp, stabbing facial pain
• Dysesthesia – burning, aching or “MS hug” sensations
• Optic Neuritis – eye pain from inflamed optic nerves
• Lhermitte’s Sign – “electric shock” sensation down the spine
• Erythromelalgia – intense burning in hands/feet with redness
• Restless Legs Syndrome – discomfort with an urge to move legs
• Spasticity –  muscle stiffness, spasms and involuntary movements.

🔹 What MS Pain Feels Like:

• Burning
• Tingling
• Stabbing / Electric shocks
• Aching
• Itching (resistant to creams)
• Cramps, spasms, stiffness.

MS pain often worsens at night. It may come and go or be constant. Sensory exams often show nerve abnormalities where the pain is felt.

Pain by the Numbers

• 63% of MS patients report pain:
  • Headaches: 43%
  • Neuropathic limb pain: 26%
  • Back pain: 20%
  • Spasms: 15%
  • Lhermitte’s sign: 16%
  • Trigeminal Neuralgia: 3.8%.

• MS patients are more likely to:
  • Experience moderate/severe pain
  • Take pain meds
  • Report lower quality of life.

Early Warning Signs

• A 2021 study found sleep problems and pain may appear up to 5 years before MS diagnosis.
• Early symptoms are possible if we start looking for infections sooner.

The Standard Theory (Unproven)

• MS is often called an autoimmune disease—where the immune system attacks myelin.
• But this theory is not proven and does not explain:
  • The wide range of symptoms
  • The unpredictability of MS
  • The pain patterns.

The Real Cause: Parasites and Infections

• New evidence shows that infections—not the immune system—trigger nerve inflammation.
• Parasites invade the nervous system and damage nerves, causing:
  • Pain
  • Spasms
  • Neuropathy

Infections That Cause Specific MS Pain Conditions

1. Trigeminal Neuralgia (Sharp Facial Pain)

Trigeminal neuralgia is a sharp, stabbing facial pain that can occur in MS. Several infections—including parasitic and bacterial—can inflame or damage the trigeminal nerve.

🔹 Infections Associated with Trigeminal Neuralgia:

• Taenia solium (Cestode – pork tapeworm)
  Causes neurocysticercosis (NCC) when cysts form in the brain. If located near the cerebellopontine angle, they can compress the trigeminal nerve.
  • Case report: 52-year-old woman presented with contralateral trigeminal neuralgia from a cysticercus lesion.
    🔗 PubMed Case Study

• Mycoplasma pneumoniae (Bacteria)
  Can cause nerve inflammation and demyelination.
  • Case: A female patient diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS), with involvement only of the facial and trigeminal nerves, tested positive for anti-GQ1b antibodies secondary to Mycoplasma pneumoniae.
  • Treated with macrolide antibiotics and neurotrophic drugs; symptoms significantly improved in 1 month.
    🔗 PubMed Source

• Toxoplasma gondii (Protozoa – possible link)
  Can infect cranial nerves and CNS; more research is needed, but toxoplasmosis is suspected in trigeminal involvement in some neurological cases.

• Plasmodium falciparum (Protozoa – malaria parasite)
  • Neuropathies reported in malaria include:
    • Facial palsy
    • Trigeminal neuralgia
    • Optic neuritis
    • Ulnar, circumflex, and lateral popliteal nerve involvement

• • These may result from:
    • Parasitized red blood cells blocking the vasa nervorum
    • Liberation of neurotoxins
    • Metabolic or nutritional deficiencies
      🔗 PMC Article on Malaria and Neuropathies

2. Dysesthesia

Dysesthesia is a painful sensation typically caused by nerve damage and is associated with tingling, burning or other unusual sensations. Sometimes the pain feels like a person is being squeezed around the chest or abdomen. This is called the MS hug.

🔹 Infections Associated with dysesthesia:

• Schistosoma species – Trematode (fluke)
  Invades the spinal cord → myeloradiculopathy, bladder dysfunction

3. Optic Neuritis (Eye Pain)

🔹 Infections Associated with optic neuritis:

• Toxoplasma gondii – Protozoa
• Angiostrongylus cantonensis – Nematode (roundworm)
• Toxocara species – Nematode (roundworm)
• Taenia solium (Cysticercosis) – Cestode (flatworm)
• Onchocerca volvulus (River Blindness) – Nematode (roundworm)

4. Lhermitte’s Sign (Electric Shock Down Spine)

🔹 Infections Associated with Lhermitte’s Sign:

• Taenia solium (Neurocysticercosis) – Cestode (flatworm)

5. Neuropathy (Burning Nerve Pain in Limbs)

Neuropathy is often called peripheral neuropathy and is pain caused by inflammation and damage to nerves outside the central nervous system.

🔹 Infections Associated with neuropathy:

• Taenia solium – Cestode (flatworm)
• Toxoplasma gondii – Protozoa
• Trypanosoma brucei – Protozoa
• Plasmodium falciparum – Protozoa
• Schistosoma species – Trematode (fluke)
• Echinococcus species – Cestode (flatworm)
• Trichinella spiralis – Nematode (roundworm)
• Angiostrongylus cantonensis – Nematode (roundworm)

6. Restless Legs Syndrome

Restless leg syndrome is a condition that causes a very strong uncomfortable feeling in the legs and a strong urge to move them. It typically happens in the evening or at night when sitting or lying down.

🔹 Infections Associated with restless legs syndrome:

• Hookworms (Ancylostoma duodenale, Necator americanus) – Nematodes (roundworms)
  Cause chronic iron loss → iron deficiency anemia → Restless Legs Syndrome

7. Borrelia burgdorferi (Lyme Disease Bacteria)

Type: Spirochete Bacteria

Lyme disease is caused by the Borrelia burgdorferi bacteria, transmitted through tick bites. It can mimic MS symptoms and cause both muscular and neurological pain.

🔹 Pain-Related Symptoms:

• Joint Pain (Lyme Arthritis)
• Muscle Pain
• Nerve Pain
• Headaches and Neck Stiffness
• Optic Neuritis
• Tendon and Bone Pain
• Cardiac-Related Pain
• Post-Treatment Lyme Disease Syndrome (PTLD)

🔹 Other MS-Like Symptoms:

• Neurological Problems
• Fatigue
• Skin Lesions (Erythema migrans)
• Flu-like Symptoms

Key Takeaways

• Pain in MS is real but not autoimmune in origin.
• Parasites including worms, protozoa and bacteria damage nerves and cause inflammation.
• Recovery is possible when we treat the root infections.

For decades, people with MS have been told that their pain is the result of an overactive immune system attacking their nerves—yet this theory has never been proven. The unpredictable pain, burning, spasms, headaches, and vision problems that so many experience were thought to be untreatable symptoms of a mysterious disease.

But the evidence tells a very different story—one rooted in science, common sense and compassion.

From parasites like Taenia solium, Toxoplasma gondii, and Schistosoma, to bacterial infections like Borrelia burgdorferi from Lyme disease, we know that many of the painful symptoms of MS can be caused by infections. These organisms damage the nerves, inflame the brain and spinal cord, and mimic what’s been labeled as “autoimmune disease.”

This means that it is possible to recover from pain.

By identifying and addressing the root infections, people suffering from MS and chronic pain have the potential to:

• Reduce and eliminate their pain
• Regain mobility and independence
• Restore quality of life.

You are not broken. You are not powerless. You are living with a condition that has a cause—and that means there is a way forward.

Hope begins with truth. Healing begins with treating the cause.

There are real solutions to recover from parasites today!

To restore health, we must focus on treating the cause of inflammation, which are parasites. First, identify the enemy (parasites), then support the body and treat the parasites while following a holistic approach. When parasitic infections are treated effectively, we can overcome inflammation or disease.

If you’re frustrated with the fact that our standard of care STILL doesn’t offer a real solution for treating MS and other diseases, then click on the link below to watch Pam Bartha’s free masterclass training and discover REAL solutions that have allowed Pam and many others to live free from MS and other diseases.

CLICK Here to watch Pam’s masterclass training

 

References

Neurocysticercosis and Trigeminal Neuralgia (PubMed)

Malaria and Neuropathies

Schistosomiasis and Spinal Cord Involvement

Neurological complications of Schistosoma infection

Toxoplasmosis

Angiostrongyliasis

Toxocariasis

River Blindness

Iron Deficiency and RLS

Lyme Disease