The condition of fibromyalgia is a considered to be a chronic pain condition. This condition affects around three to nine million adults in the United States.
Of course, you should be aware that this condition is not so much a specific disease, but is considered a syndrome. This means that it describes a specific pattern of symptoms that cluster together.
The most common symptoms in the condition of fibromyalgia are widespread pain through the body and sensitivity to any pressure at all on specific points in the body.
These are referred to as tender points. The weird part is that these particular points are sensitive to pressure in those who have the condition of fibromyalgia- while other, similar spots on other body parts are not.
In addition, there are those individuals who have other chronic pain conditions, such as arthritis or lower back pain that do not have pain when pressure is placed on these same spots.
Believe it or not, until 1990, the term “fibromyalgia” was actually used to describe a wide variety of completely unrelated chronic pain conditions.
However, in 1990, the American College of Rheumatology took initiative and established some very specific diagnostic criteria, which allowed for the correct identification for those individuals with this condition.
In order to be diagnosed with fibromyalgia, the individual must have pain occurring on both sides of their body, as well as both above and below the waist. In addition, individuals must perceive pressure on the tender points as painful.
In addition to this body pain, individuals with this condition must experience a variety of other signs and symptoms such as disturbances in sleep, fatigue, stiffness upon waking, and abnormal sensations in their body, including tingling/numbness. Over half of these individuals report experiencing migraine headaches.
Individuals who have the condition of fibromyalgia also have many of the same signs and symptoms that those with chronic headaches do.
Migraines are very similar to this condition, in that they most commonly occur among women who are of child-bearing age.
In fact, women are affected around 7 times more often than men. In addition, as mentioned, the two often occur together.
One study of around 100 individuals with migraine revealed that around 36 percent of individuals had also been diagnosed with the condition of fibromyalgia.
Those who had fibromyalgia and headaches reported feeling much greater severity of pain and increased depression.
One other smaller study took around 70 individuals with the condition of fibromyalgia and compared them with individual who had chronic headaches.
Around 35 percent of the individuals with fibromyalgia also reported experiencing tension or migraine headaches.
In addition, around 42 percent of the individuals with migraines also experienced painful tender points throughout their bodies- similar to those present in the condition of fibromyalgia.
Other findings were very similar to the other study in that individuals with both conditions reported increased disability, more pain, and more depression than those who only had migraine headaches.
Researchers state that the general touch sensitivity on the tender points, which was found in about 40 percent of the individuals, suggests that the nervous system has become more sensitive or activated.
Basically, this means that around 40 percent of individual reported an increase in sensitivity throughout their entire body- including their head- which is very similar to what is felt in those individuals with the condition of fibromyalgia.
Of course, these studies explain to us that the condition of fibromyalgia, which is similar to some forms of chronic headache, could possibly be associated with an increase in excitement in the nervous system.
This means that it is overly responsive to stimulation that is typically not painful.
Very similar to migraine headaches, an increase in serotonin levels, which is a chemical in the brain that helps to fine-tune your painful experiences, is involved in the condition of fibromyalgia as well.
In addition, another substance, known as Substance P, is a chemical in the brain that is known to be part of pain sensation, is increased in those individuals who have the condition of fibromyalgia.
Finally, those individuals who experience painful chronic migraine headaches as well as fibromyalgia typically respond in very similar ways to stress- which is much different than those individuals who do not have either of these conditions.
Unfortunately, the medical experts are still not quite sure of the exact causes of the condition of fibromyalgia.
There are some individual that develop the signs and symptoms after a specific illness or trauma. On the other hand, there are others that develop this condition without any specific event triggering it.
The condition of fibromyalgia is not a progressive or degenerative one. This means that it is not likely to develop into something more serious such as memory loss, paralysis, or even a loss in overall functioning.
Some research has found that there are some migraine headache treatments that are also quite effective for reducing overall symptoms of the condition of fibromyalgia.
- Antidepressants: these often have pain-relieving effects
- Tizanidine: this is a muscle relaxer that also relieves pain
- Pain management skills such as learning to manage stress, learning to cope, and learning to relax
Of course, just like chronic migraine headaches, you must learn more about the condition of fibromyalgia and how you can manage the pain and other symptoms as well as keep them from having too much of an effect on your daily life.
Individuals with both of these conditions should start by using treatments that are known to be effective for both conditions.
The standard headache acute care/preventative techniques should be used when the headache persists after a particular fibromyalgia treatment has been completed. In addition, headache treatments should be used when that is your primary complaint.
If you are experiencing body pain across your entire body, it is critical that you speak with your physician about it.
If you have been diagnosed with the condition of fibromyalgia, you should be aware that you are at an increased risk for anxiety and/or depression. Individuals with fibromyalgia and chronic migraine headaches report more disability from their pain than those who have headache without the body pain.
If you do not recognize and treat your fibromyalgia, you may have an increase in your pain, anxiety, depression, and disability.
In addition, you must be aware that there are some therapies that are available for this condition that will offer a significant improvement in the headache as well as the widespread body pain.