Poststroke Pain – but Multiple Pain Mechanisms

A 42-year-old man presented with acute left hemiplegia due to a right frontotemporal hemorrhagic stroke and left-sided pain. While the initial presentation suggested central poststroke pain, subsequent investigations also implicated heterotopic ossification of the left hip and amplification of previous low back pain by the new central pain. While heterotopic ossification has been commonly associated with brain injury, spinal cord injury or osseous injury, it is only rarely associated with stroke. Poststroke pain may be multifactorial, and discovering the pain mechanisms has important implications for treatment.