Fibromyalgia is a non-communicable, or non-contagious, syndrome that those afflicted suffer from long-term, full-body aches and pains and tenderness in joints, muscles, or tendons. Fibromyalgia can also cause fatigue, sleep deprivation, headaches, anxiety, or depression.
The exact cause of Fibromyalgia is currently unknown, but there are many known triggers or stimulants that have been linked with the syndrome. Physical or emotional trauma is one possible cause. Another possible explanation for the painful affliction is that the afflicted person’s brain has abnormal pain responses, meaning that areas in the brain that control pain function differently in people with Fibromyalgia. Fibromyalgia is most common in women from the ages of 20 to
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The painful areas caused by Fibromyalgia are called “tender points”, Tender points can be located in the soft tissue in the back of the neck, shoulders, chest, lower back, hips, shins, elbows, and knees. The pain radiates from these afflicted areas.
Those with Fibromyalgia are prone to wake up with pain or stiffness of the entire body or of afflicted areas. In some, pain can subside throughout the day or get worse at night. Some people may have constant pain all day long. Some find that pain gets worse from physical activity, cold weather, anxiety, or stress. Other symptoms of Fibromyalgia may include: Irritable Bowel Syndrome, memory or concentration problems, numbness or tingling in the hands and feet, reduced ability to perform physical activities, or tension headaches or migraines.
Fibromyalgia is somewhat difficult to diagnose, as the symptoms vary from person to person, but generally, for one to be diagnosed with Fibromyalgia, they must exhibit sleep problems, fatigue, and thinking or memory problems for a period of at least three months along with widespread pain. Blood and urine tests may be done but are not likely to be conclusive, but should be done to rule out any other conditions that can create similar
Diagnosis of FMS is often very difficult. There are many different symptoms that seem to be unrelated. Some of the symptoms such as fatigue overlap with many other diseases. A patient will often have to visit many different doctors before being properly diagnosed. Also, there currently is no lab test to rule whether or not a patient actually has FMS. As physicians become more aware of the disorder and its classic symptoms, it will be easier for them to diagnose it. Still, many other diseases and disorders must first be ruled out before the patient is diagnosed as having fibromyalgia. The American College of Rheumatology (ACR) has established some criteria for diagnosis: more than three months of muscular pain and tender points, there must be pain in all four quadrants of the body (top, bottom, left, right), and there must be at least eleven tender points (the ACR has established eighteen of these points). (Source 1)
Fibromyalgia has been described as a full-body migraine. Another common explanation is to compare everyday life with FMS as being similar to the aches and pains associated with a severe
years ago with vague complaints of (C/O) intermittent fatigue, joint pain, low-grade fever, and unintentional
Fibromyalgia – This condition causes individuals to have aching muscles all over often leaving them in quite a lot of pain, and many fatigued by the simplest of movements.
Many people do not realize what effects your body can get when it does not have the proper physical needs to stay strong and healthy. One of the effects is a rheumatic syndrome called FIBROMYALGIA, also known as Fibrositis and Myofasical pain syndrome. This syndrome is diagnosed with a history of at least three months of widespread pain and tenderness in eleven to eighteen of tender-point sites. These points include: the neck, the shoulders, the chest, the rib cage, the lower back, the thighs, the knees, the arms(mainly the elbows), and the buttocks. The pain in these areas is defined as an overwhelming characteristic of FIBROMYALGIA and is long standing. These points are the trigger points,
The symptoms may have different causes. It is imperative for your doctor to establish the cause of your symptoms since treatments are quite diverse. Muscle throbs and discomfort may be from symptoms that happen when your body is responding to some type of inflammation, from muscle atrophy. Lupus arthritis causes pain, stiffness, swelling, tenderness and warmth in your joints. (WebMD) The joints most often affected are the ones farthest away from the center of the body, such as fingers, wrists, elbows, knees, ankles and toes. Common stiffness upon awakening, which increasingly progresses as the day goes on, is a significant characteristic of lupus arthritis. However, there also may be joint pain later in the day. Numerous joints are typically engaged, and the inflammation will disturb similar joints on both flanks of your
Have you ever wondered what fibromyalgia is or how people living with it felt? People with fibromyalgia experience pain in ways no one else can really understand. Fibromyalgia is no mystery and it is caused by biofilm bacteria. Fibromyalgia is characterized by widespread of musculoskeletal and chronic pain disorder that causes pain and tenderness throughout your entire body. I effects people physically, mentally, and socially. The pain experience is described as deep muscular aching, shooting, throbbing or stabbing pain. It can occur in people of all ages including children and there is no cure for fibromyalgia but the pain can be controlled by a variety of medications. Fibromyalgia is one of the most common chronic pain conditions. It effects more than 5 million people in the United States, mostly women have it but men can have it to.
The treatment of Fibromyalgia should be viewed as a “team approach”. Most chronic pain does not respond to drugs and may require an aggressive use of no pharmacological therapies or “the rehab approach”. This includes a lifestyle change, physically, mentally, and emotionally. This approach should include use of a physician, occupational therapist, physical therapist, massage therapist, chiropractor, an acupuncturist and any specialists, such as a Rheumatologist. (Mondell, D. L., &ump; Wright, P. (2005)) Psychological counseling is recommended early after receiving the diagnosis of Fibromyalgia. Mainly because it takes many years of visiting doctors and having tests results come back negative that an individual will begin to think this is “all in their head”. Then when finally a diagnosis is given like Fibromyalgia and they are told that “the cause is unknown, the treatment is unknown and there is no cure” can be hard to accept. It is recommended that the patient’s loved ones attend sessions, because they, too, will find it hard to understand the diagnosis. In 2007 pregabalin became the first US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved drug for the treatment of FM. Pregabalin and its precursor gabapentin play an important
Everybody hurts! If you decide to join a local group, you will meet other fibromites who understand the black cloud you’re living under. If you met them on the street, you wouldn’t realize they were kindred spirits. That’s why fibromyalgia has been dubbed the invisible syndrome.
Physical Symptoms, if emotional symptoms like depression, worry, insomnia, guilt, tension are left untreated manifestations can start to show physical ailments. Higher rates of Neurological (cognition: Executive Functioning), Respiratory (lack of exercise/sleep for proper distribution of rich oxygen), Musculoskeletal (muscle tension) and Cardiovascular (Tachycardia,
Among children, the most common symptom of fibromyalgia is sore spots on specific muscles. If these tender spots are touched, they will hurt. A doctor will normally touch 18 spots on the teenager's body that are common locations for fibromyalgia pain. Patients who have experienced pain in at least five of these spots for at least three months are diagnosed with the condition. Teenagers may describe the soreness as tenderness, stiffness, aching, tightness or burning.
"Approximately 10 million Americans (2-4%) have Fibromyalgia with a ratio of about 8 to 2, women over men." This is a ratio that has been found by the National Fibromyalgia and Chronic Pain Association. Fibromyalgia is a disease that affects the body in many different ways. It comes with pain in the muscles, ligaments, and tendons. Along with chronic muscle pain, it also comes with fatigue, sleep problems, and painful trigger points. Although many doubt a diagnosis of Fibromyalgia, it is a real disease affecting so many people. This confusing diagnosis leads to daily struggles like fatigue, pain all throughout the body, and even depression from time to time, affecting not only the victim of the disease, but also the people around them.
Noehren B, Dailey D, Rakel B, Vance C, Zimmerman M, Crofford L, Sluka K: Effect of Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation on Pain, Function, and Quality of Life in Fibromyalgia: A Double-Blind Randomized Clinical Trial; Physical Therapy 95(1) 129-140, 2015
Chronic fatigue is the first symptoms when it comes to this disease. When you have chronic fatigue you will experience an extreme tiredness that cannot be explained. You will find it harder to do the things that you used to do with ease and you may want to sleep all the time.
Fibromyalgia was initially thought to be a musculoskeletal syndrome since maximum of the pain was felt in the muscles and other soft tissue. However, recent studies and research have shown that fibromyalgia is a central nervous system ailment which causes uncharacteristic pain processing and leads in pain amplification. The three chief symptoms that are common to virtually everybody who struggles with fibromyalgia are pain, tiredness and sleep disorders.