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Fibromyalgia

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Fibromyalgia
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Fibromyalgia

Fibromyalgia: A disease characterized by chronic pain, stiffness, and tenderness of muscles, tendons, and joints, without detectable inflammation. Fibromyalgia does not cause body damage or deformity. However, undue fatigue plagues 90 percent of patients with fibromyalgia. Sleep disorder is also common in patients with fibromyalgia. Fibromyalgia can be associated with other rheumatic conditions, and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) can occur with fibromyalgia. There is no definitive medical test for the diagnosis of fibromyalgia, so diagnosis is made by eliminating other possible causes of the symptoms. The most effective treatment is a combination of education, stress reduction, exercise, and medication. Formerly known as fibrositis.


Widespread pain. The pain associated with fibromyalgia often is described as a constant dull ache that has lasted for at least three months. To be considered widespread, the pain must occur on both sides of your body and above and below your waist.
Fatigue. People with fibromyalgia often awaken tired, even though they report sleeping for long periods of time. Sleep is often disrupted by pain, and many patients with fibromyalgia have other sleep disorders, such as restless legs syndrome and sleep apnea.
Cognitive difficulties. A symptom commonly referred to as "fibro fog" impairs the ability to focus, pay attention and concentrate on mental tasks.
We don’t yet know exactly what causes fibromyalgia, but research suggests that there’s an interaction between physical, neurological and psychological factors. The pain we feel is often affected by our emotions and moods – depression or anxiety can make the pain seem worse. At the same time, being in pain can lead to stress, worry or low mood.

Usually, people feel pain when part of the body is damaged (as in arthritis) or suffers a physical injury. The pain people with fibromyalgia feel is different because it's not directly caused by damage or injury to the area that's hurting. Instead there's a problem with the way the brain and nervous system process pain from that area. This doesn’t mean the pain is any less real, but because there’s no physical damage that can be healed there's no easy way to stop the pain. This is why fibromyalgia pain can be long-lasting (chronic).

Research has shown that people with fibromyalgia are more sensitive to physical pressure. This means that what would be a relatively minor knock for most people could be extremely painful for someone with fibromyalgia. This increased sensitivity isn't fully understood but it’s thought that it could be related to changes in the way the nervous system processes pain. Some researchers have shown using special brain scans that these processes are altered in people with fibromyalgia. 

Sleep disturbance may also contribute to this increased sensitivity. Brainwave studies show that people with fibromyalgia often lose deep sleep. A number of things may lead to sleep disturbance, such as:
Treatment for fibromyalgia tries to ease some of your symptoms and improve quality of life, but there's currently no cure.
Your GP will play an important role in your treatment and care. They can help you decide what's best for you, depending on what you prefer and the available treatments.
In some cases, several different healthcare professionals may also be involved in your care, such as a:
rheumatologist – a specialist in conditions that affect muscles and joints
neurologist – a specialist in conditions of the central nervous system
psychologist – a specialist in mental health and psychological treatments
Fibromyalgia has numerous symptoms, meaning that no single treatment will work for all of them. Treatments that work for some people won't necessarily work for others.
You may need to try a variety of treatments to find a combination that suits you. This will normally be a combination of medication and lifestyle changes.

https://www.mayoclinic.org
www.arthritisresearchuk.org
https://www.nhs.uk

Fibromyalgia

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