Fibromyalgia is characterized by
musculoskeletal pain, fatigue and tenderness in the local areas of the
spine, neck, shoulders and hips known as ''tender points''. These points
hurt when the pressure is applied on them. Mostly middle aged women are
affected by fibromyalgia. It is basically a myofascial pain syndrome
resulting in generalized back pain and muscle pain. A person suffering
from fibromyalgia often visualizes the following symptoms:
Difficulty in sleeping
Feeling tired after waking from sleep, instead of feeling refreshed.
Stiff joints in the morning that feel better as the day progresses.
Numbness or tingling in hands and feet
Depression
Headache
Fibromyalgia is the third most common diagnosis made in rheumatology
clinics, after rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis, this disease is
especially enigmatic and difficult to identify. Surely, it is not
degenerative or life threatening but it can be life altering. Treatment
for fibromyalgia involves a coordinated management program to alleviate
the symptoms. Some of the goals included in this program are:
1.Correct
and accurate diagnosis of fibromyalgia
2.Sleep enhancement for
fibromyalgia
3.Patient education about fibromyalgia
4.Aerobic
fitness for fibromyalgia
Other treatment for fibromyalgia may
include one or a combination of the following options:
Massage or injections of lidocaine (helpful in relieving pain in
tender spots)
Non-narcotic pain medications like acetaminophen
Low impact aerobic conditioning
Anti-depressants like amitriptyline (helpful in sleeping and in
alleviating the pain)
While making a diagnosis of fibromyalgia, your doctor would take in to
consideration the patient's case history and the exclusion of other
conditions like endocrine disorder, arthritis, and polymyalgia
rheumatica. For diagnosis, two criteria are established by American
College of Rheumatology. These are:
1.A history of
widespread pain which lasts more than three months i.e. pain in both
sides and above and below the waist.
2.Tender points- There
are 18 designated tender points. During diagnosis, some force is exerted
at each of the 18 points. The patient must feel pain at 11 or more of
these points for fibromyalgia to be considered.
So proper and
accurate diagnosis will help in knowing the real cause behind the
problem and in turn help in selecting a better treatment.
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