“My Hand Is Different”: Altered Body Perception in Stroke Survivors with Chronic Pain

Background: Chronic pain and body perception disturbance are common following stroke. It is possible that an interaction exists between pain and body perception disturbance, and that a change in one may influence the other. We therefore investigated the presence of body perception disturbance in individuals with stroke, aiming to determine if a perceived change in hand size contralateral to the stroke lesion is more common in those with chronic pain than in those without. Methods: Stroke survivors (N = 523) completed an online survey that included: stroke details, pain features, and any difference in perceived hand size post-stroke. Results: Individuals with stroke who experienced chronic pain were almost three times as likely as those without chronic pain to perceive their hand as now being a different size (OR = 2.895; 95%CI 1.844, 4.547). Further, those with chronic pain whose pain included the hand were almost twice as likely to perceive altered hand size than those whose pain did not include the hand (OR = 1.862; 95%CI 1.170, 2.962). This was not influenced by hemisphere of lesion (p = 0.190). Conclusions: The results point to a new characteristic of chronic pain in stroke, raising the possibility of body perception disturbance being a rehabilitation target to improve function and pain-related outcomes for stroke survivors.