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 wasformerly 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 internal organs or muscles
What are symptoms of fibromyalgia?
The universal symptom of fibromyalgia is pain. As mentioned earlier, the pain in fibromyalgia is not caused by tissue inflammation. Instead, these patients seem to have an increased sensitivity to many different sensory stimuli, and an unusually low pain threshold. Minor sensory stimuli that ordinarily would not cause pain in individuals can cause disabling pain in patients with fibromyalgia. The body pain of fibromyalgia can be aggravated by noise, weather change, and emotional stress.
The pain of fibromyalgia is generally widespread, involving both sides of the body. Pain usually affects the neck, buttocks, shoulders, arms, the upper back, and the chest. "Tender points" are localized tender areas of the body that can bring on widespread pain and muscle spasm when touched. Tender points are commonly found around the elbows, shoulders, knees, hips, back of the head, and the sides of the breast bone.
What causes fibromyalgia?
The cause of fibromyalgia is not known. Patients experience pain in response to stimuli that are normally not perceived as painful. Researchers have found elevated levels of a nerve chemical signal, called substance P, and nerve growth factor in the spinal fluid of fibromyalgia patients. The brain nerve chemical serotonin is also relatively low in patients with fibromyalgia. Studies of pain in fibromyalgia have suggested that the central nervous system (brain) may be somehow supersensitive. Scientists note that there seems to be a diffuse disturbance of pain perception in patients with fibromyalgia.
Also, patients with fibromyalgia have impaired non-Rapid-Eye-Movement, or non-REM, sleep phase (which likely explains the common feature of waking up fatigued and unrefreshed in these patients). The onset of fibromyalgia has been associated with psychological distress, trauma, and infection.
Fatigue occurs in 90 percent of patients. Fatigue may be related to abnormal sleep patterns commonly observed in these patients. Normally, there are several levels of depth of sleep. Getting enough of the deeper levels of sleep may be more important in refreshing a person than the total number of hours of sleep. Patients with fibromyalgia lack the deep, restorative level of sleep, called "non-rapid-eye- movement" (non-REM) sleep. Consequently, patients with fibromyalgia often awaken in the morning without feeling fully rested. Some patients awaken with muscle aches or a sensation of muscle fatigue as if they had been "working out" all night!
Emotional disturbances can occur in fibromyalgia patients. These symptoms include poor concentration, forgetfulness, mood changes, irritability, depression, and anxiety. Since a firm diagnosis of fibromyalgia is difficult, and no confirmatory laboratory tests are available, patients with fibromyalgia are often misdiagnosed as having depression as their primary underlying problem.
Other symptoms of fibromyalgia include migraine and tension headaches, numbness or tingling of different parts of the body, abdominal pain related to irritable bowel syndrome ("spastic colon"), and irritable bladder, causing painful and frequent urination. Like fibromyalgia, irritable bowel syndrome can cause chronic abdominal pain and other bowel disturbances without detectable inflammation of the stomach or the intestines. For further information, please see the read ourIrritable Bowel Syndrome article.
Each patient with fibromyalgia is unique. Any of the above symptoms can occur intermittently and in different combinations.
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What is the treatment for fibromyalgia?
Since the symptoms of fibromyalgia are diverse and vary among patients, treatment programs must be individualized for each patient. Treatment programs are most effective when they combine patient education, stress reduction, regular exercise, and medications. Recent studies have verified that the best outcome for each patient results from a combination of approaches that involves the patient in customization of the treatment plan.
Patient Education
Patient education is an important first step in helping patients understand and cope with the diverse symptoms. Unfortunately, not all physicians are intimately acquainted with the vagaries of this illness. Therefore, community hospital support groups and the local chapters of the Arthritis Foundation have become important educational resources for patients and their doctors. Arthritis Foundation is a national voluntary health organization that provides community education through their many local chapters. Community hospital support groups also provide an arena for patients to share their experiences and treatment successes and failures.
Stress Reduction
It is extremely difficult to measure stress levels in different patients. For some people, spilling milk on the table can represent a significant tragedy. For others, a tank rolling into the living room might represent "just another day!" Therefore, stress reduction in the treatment of fibromyalgia must be individualized. Stress reduction might include simple stress modification at home or work, biofeedback, relaxation tapes, psychological counseling, and/or support among family members, friends, and doctors. Sometimes, changes in environmental factors (such as noise, temperature, and weather exposure) can exacerbate the symptoms of fibromyalgia, and these factors need to be modified.
Exercise
Low-impact exercises are beneficial
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Medications
Traditionally, the most effective medications in the treatment of fibromyalgia have been the tricyclic antidepressants, medications traditionally used in treating depression. In treating fibromyalgia, tricyclic antidepressants are taken at bedtime in doses that are a fraction of those used for treating depression. Tricyclic antidepressants appear to reduce fatigue, relieve muscle pain and spasm, and promote deep restorative sleep in patients with fibromyalgia. Scientists believe that tricyclics work by interfering with a nerve transmitter chemical in the brain called "serotonin." Examples of tricyclic antidepressants commonly used in treating fibromyalgia include amitriptyline (Elavil) and doxepin (Sinequan).
Studies have shown that adding fluoxetine (Prozac), or related medications, to low dose amitriptyline (Elavil) further reduces muscle pain, anxiety, and depression in patients with fibromyalgia. The combination is also more effective in promoting restful sleep, and improving an overall sense of well-being. These two medications also tend to cancel out certain side effects each can have. Tricyclic medications can cause tiredness and fatigue while fluoxetine can make patients more cheerful and awake. Even more recently, study of patients with resistant fibromyalgia found that lorazepam (Ativan) was helpful in relieving symptoms. Fluoxetine (Prozac) has also been shown to be effective when used alone for some patients with fibromyalgia.
In 2007, pregabalin (Lyrica) became the first medication approved specifically for treating fibromyalgia.
What is in the future for fibromyalgia therapy?
The key to unlocking the mystery of fibromyalgia has yet to be found. Research scientists have been studying numerous viruses as potential causes for fibromyalgia. Identification of an infectious agent or toxin which causes the disease may one day lead to a laboratory test which can help doctors diagnose fibromyalgia. Until further research uncovers the exact cause of the disease, specific treatment aimed at a cure remains unattainable.
New drugs may be developed that block substance P or nerve growth factor to relieve pain of fibromyalgia. Many fibromyalgia patients can be helped by improved patient education, proper exercise, and medications. With ongoing research, the future will certainly improve for those affected by fibromyalgia.
Recent research has suggested that drugs that block more than one brain nerve transmitter, such as duloxetine (Cymbalta), can be effective in treating fibromyalgia. Duloxetine has been effective in treating depression and relieving pain in persons with depression. Additional research suggests that the drug pregabalin may be helpful by blocking nerve pain in patients with fibromyalgia. More research is underway to evaluate the potential of these new treatments.
Fibromyalgia At A Glance
Fibromyalgia causes pain, stiffness, and tenderness of muscles, tendons, and joints without detectable inflammation.
Fibromyalgia does not cause body damage or deformity.
Fatigue occurs in 90% of patients with fibromyalgia.
Irritable bowel syndrome can occur with fibromyalgia.
Sleep disorder is common in patients with fibromyalgia.
There is no test for the diagnosis of fibromyalgia.
Fibromyalgia can be associated with other rheumatic conditions.
Treatment of fibromyalgia is most effective with combinations of education, stress reduction, exercise, and medications.
For further information about fibromyalgia, contact:
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