Like rheumatoid arthritis and osteoporosis, fibromyalgia is a rheumatologic disorder, which means it is characterized by inflammation and pain in muscles and joints. But while osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis affect joints, fibromyalgia affects the muscles and soft tissues and is a common cause of lower back pain.
Symptoms are wide-ranging, from muscle ache and stiffness, fatigue, and headaches to disturbed sleep, depression, and tingling in the extremities; and it has been estimated to affect up to 5 percent of the population.
The American College of Rheumatology’s diagnostic guideline to tell whether a person has fibromyalgia specifies both widespread general pain (defined as pain on both sides of the body, above and below the waist, and spinal pain) for at least three months; and pain in eleven of eighteen tender point sites. “For a tender point to be considered ‘positive,’” read the guidelines, “the subject must state that the palpation was painful. ‘Tender’ is not to be considered ‘painful.’”
Because there are no specific lab tests to accurately diagnose it, however, fibromyalgia has been the source of some controversy and discussion of the best ways to achieve lower back pain relief from it, with many scientists and physicians speculating it is not a physical disorder because no telltale abnormalities could be found in tissues or blood.
Recent research at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, however, found people with fibromyalgia have a diminished flow of blood to parts of the brain, and an increase in a chemical substance that helps transmit pain signals.
“This finding should provide some relief to millions of people who’ve been told that their pain is all in their head,” said Laurence Bradley, Ph.D., who led the study.
If you suspect you have fibromyalgia, you’ll probably be referred to a rheumatologist, who is a medical specialist trained in the field of rheumatologic disease. Treatment therapies have involved antidepressants and gentle exercise, stress management, and a diet rich in carbohydrates.
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