What is Fibromyalgia?
Fibromyalgia is a chronic condition causing pain, stiffness, and tenderness of the muscles, tendons, and joints. Fibromyalgia is also characterized by restless sleep, awakening feeling tired, fatigue, anxiety, depression, and disturbances in bowel function. Fibromyalgia was formerly known as fibrositis. While fibromyalgia is one of the most common diseases affecting the muscles, its cause is currently unknown. The painful tissues involved are not accompanied by tissue inflammation. Therefore, despite potentially disabling body pain, patients with fibromyalgia do not develop body damage or deformity. Fibromyalgia also does not cause damage to internal body organs. Therefore, fibromyalgia is different from many other rheumatic conditions (such as rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus, and polymyositis). In those diseases, tissue inflammation is the major cause of pain, stiffness, and tenderness of the joints, tendons and muscles, and it can lead to joint deformity and damage to the intern
Fibromyalgia is a disorder that causes muscle pain and fatigue (feeling tired). People with fibromyalgia have “tender points” on the body. Tender points are specific places on the neck, shoulders, back, hips, arms, and legs. These points hurt when pressure is put on them. People with fibromyalgia may also have other symptoms, such as: • Trouble sleeping • Morning stiffness • Headaches • Painful menstrual periods • Tingling or numbness in hands and feet • Problems with thinking and memory (sometimes called “fibro fog”). What Causes Fibromyalgia? Who Is Affected by Fibromyalgia? How Is Fibromyalgia Treated? What Can I Do to Try to Feel Better? What Research Is Being Done on Fibromyalgia?
Fibromyalgia is a syndrome, meaning that it is a collection of symptoms that occur together, and not all patients have all of them. Women are affected more than men–only about 20 percent are male–and it also occurs in children. Fibromyalgia means “pain in muscles and fibers.” This pain must be present in all four quadrants of the body for three months. Diagnosis is made by the prescence of tender swollen areas that hurt when a small amount of pressure is applied. However, not all patients have significant pain, for some fatigue is the primary complaint. Other symptoms include headahces, irritable bowel syndrome, irritable bladder, vulvodynia, problems with memory and concentration, nervousness, depression, and sensitivity to sound, light and odors.
Fibromyalgia may be best understood as a change in the way the brain and spinal cord listen to the body. Fibromyalgia is a complex disorder characterized by chronic widespread pain and tenderness, sleep disturbances, chronic fatigue and difficulty with concentration and memory. In addition, there are a number of other conditions that are commonly associated with fibromyalgia including Restless Legs Syndrome, Irritable Bowel Syndrome and such neuropsychiatric disorders as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Depression. Fibromyalgia is considered a stress-related disorder because it frequently begins or worsens during periods of stress, whether emotional or physical, e.g., an accident or severe infection. For additional information, we invite you to explore the links on our Resources page. To gain a more complete understanding of what the latest research reveals about the cause of fibromyalgia we invite you to view the video Fibromyalgia: Show Me Where It Hurts f
Fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) is a widespread musculoskeletal pain and fatigue disorder. Fibromyalgia means pain in the muscles, ligaments, and tendons—the soft fibrous tissues in the body. Most patients say that they ache all over. Their muscles may feel like they were pulled or overworked. Sometimes the muscles twitch and other times they burn. More women than men are afflicted with fibromyalgia (75% versus 25%) and it shows up in people of all ages.
