Fibromyalgia

Fibromyalgia is a common and disturbing ailment characterised by chronic widespread pain and a heightened and painful response to pressure. It is often associated with fatigue, sleep problems and painful tender points, but it is essentially a physical response to depression or stress.
While it affects a small percentage of the population, about 2-8%, women are more prone to it, with a female-to-male incidence ratio of approximately 9:1.Its exact cause is unknown but it is believed to involve psychological, genetic, neurobiological and environmental factors.

Fibromyalgia patients have a lower threshold for pain because of increased reactivity of painsensitive nerve cells in the spinal cord or brain. Neuropathic pain and major depressive disorder often co-occur with fibromyalgia.

Symptoms

FM is characterised by chronic widespread pain and allodynia (a heightened and painful response to pressure. Other symptoms include debilitating fatigue, sleep disturbance, and joint stiffness.Some people also report difficulty with swallowing, bowel and bladder abnormalities, numbness and tingling and cognitive dysfunction.Pain may be localised in areas such as the shoulders, neck, low back, hips, or other areas.

Stress-related?

Fibromyalgia is frequently associated with stress-related disorders such as chronic fatigue syndrome, posttraumatic stress disorder, irritable bowel syndrome and depression. There could also be an association between fibromyalgia and physical and sexual abuse in both childhood and adulthood.

How is it diagnosed?

It is done using a scoring system based on widespread pain index and symptom severity .z A history of widespread pain lasting more than three months.z The patient will not have a disorder that will explain the pain.

Treatment method

There is no universally accepted treatment for fibromyalgia.Sadly , the response to treatment is poor and inconsistent. Some treatment plans that incorporate medication, patient education, aerobic exercise and cognitivebehavioural therapy have been shown to be effective in alleviating pain and other fibromyalgiarelated symptoms. The greatest benefit occurs when cognitive behavioral therapy is used along with exercise.

Try aquatics

Exercise improves fitness and sleep and may reduce pain and fatigue in some people with fibromyalgia. Cardiovascular exercise is particularly effective for some and long-term aquaticbased exercise is also beneficial.

Pain may persist

In itself, this condition is neither degenerative nor fatal, but the chronic pain is pervasive and persistent. Most fibromyalgia patients report that their symptoms do not improve over time. Hence such patients always switch from one doctor to another is search of proper diagnosis and treatment