Fibromyalgia

Fibromyalgia is a relatively new disease if it is possible to say such a thing. It sometimes goes by the name of polymyalgia rheumatica.

Symptoms

It is characterised by diffuse and variable pain symptoms felt in the muscles and joints of primarily the upper aspects of the arms and legs. It is reported to affect significantly more women than men and has associated and marked fatigue type symptoms.

It is seemingly able to manifest for many months if not years, without a definite end point. There are a considerable number of experts who consider it to have a major psychological cause. This is commonly termed psychogenic or psychosomatic.

Symptomatically the disease tends to have flare ups known as exacerbations and quiet periods or remissions. These often seem to be associated with stress, anxiety, physical exertion or cold.

Diagnosis

A provisional diagnosis of fibromyalgia is often given if widespread undiagnosed pain is experienced in all four limbs for a period of three months or more. Further confirmation is with tender point analysis. This is where patients feel specific and abnormal tenderness on certain points located around the body, specifically on the knees, elbows, hips, neck and shoulders.

Sleep disturbance is another commonly reported phenomenon.

Fibromyalgia is also associated symptomatically with a number of other illnesses or diseases such as:

* metal poisoning

* post war syndromes

* chronic fatIgue syndrome

* hypothyroidism

* depression

* influenza

Treatment

There is no known cure for fibromayalgia. Analgesia and low dose antidepressant medication is commonly used to treat symptoms. Physiotherapy and massage or alternative therapies have also been cited as helpful.

It is commonly accepted, however, that exercising to a level of fatigue has negative rather than positive results with fibromyalgia sufferers.

Causes

Causes are thought to be possibly:

Stress

Genetics

Endocrine deficiencies

Debate

There is a debate as to whether fibromyalgia is a definable disease or just a convenient label for a reported combination of a number of widespread signs and symptoms.

Many believe it is a psychosomatic set of symptoms because of its variable presentation and the vague evidence based diagnostics associated with it.