Diagnosis
of Fibromyalgia
Fibromyalgia
is a badly understood medical condition characterized
by soft tissue pain, fatigue, sleep interruption
and widely distributed areas of tenderness known
as tender points. It is a constant condition with
no cure that affects more than 3.4% of women and
0.5 % of men.
There is no laboratory
test to make a diagnosis fibromyalgia, which before
caused some health care providers to consider
the condition to be psychosomatic, or brought
on by the individual’s emotions. However,
latest research has shown that fibromyalgia patients
typically have changed sleep patterns and brain
chemistry. Many report awakening repeatedly and
not being refreshed by sleep. Furthermore, sleep
turbulence (as well as stress) may lead to symptoms
of fibromyalgia. One-third of patients with fibromyalgia
also have low insulin growth factor levels, which
shows low growth hormone secretion.
Researchers
have also found that fibromyalgia patients have
high levels of a neurotransmitter - cerebrospinal
fluid substance P - which is related with enhanced
pain perception. Fibromyalgia patients also don’t
have much production of the steroid cortisol in
disparity to higher-than-normal levels seen in
depression patients. These disturbances in the
nervous and endocrine systems might cause fibromyalgia.
In essence, pain is not caused by inflammation
or damage, but is instead related with a central
defect in pain processing. Some may assume that
physical or psychological trauma may cause such
changes in the inner nervous system, leading to
fibromyalgia.
Diagnosis
fibromyalgia is Diagnosed
by the symptoms described by the patient, a physical
test and sometimes, observation over time. The
American College of Rheumatology established diagnostic
criteria, which contain unexplained pain or tender
points. These are typically located at 11 or more
of 18 particular sites on the body, such as the
shoulders, neck, lower back, hips, buttocks, elbows
and knees. The site of the pain may shift over
time and a person might have fibromyalgia even
if they don’t meet all the criteria.
Since hypothyroidism
be able to mimic fibromyalgia symptoms, the thyroid-stimulating
hormone level be supposed to be checked routinely.
One more condition, myofascial pain syndrome,
may also be puzzled with fibromyalgia. However,
fibromyalgia pain is widespread and changes locations.
Myofascial pain is one of the circumstances that
often accompanies fibromyalgia, along with irritable
bowel syndrome, migraine headaches, depression
and temporomandibular joint syndrome.
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