bone, joint, and muscle disorders
Fibromyalgia
Introduction
Fibromyalgia is characterized by poor sleep, fatigue, mental cloudiness, and widespread aching and stiffness in soft tissues, including muscles, tendons, and ligaments. Poor sleep, stress, strains, injury, and possibly certain personality characteristics may increase the risk of fibromyalgia. Pain is widespread, and certain parts of the body are tender to touch. The diagnosis of fibromyalgia is based on established criteria and symptoms such as widespread pain and fatigue. Improving sleep, taking pain relievers, exercising, applying heat, and getting massages may help. Fibromyalgia used to be called fibrositis or fibromyositis syndrome. But because inflammation (indicated by the “itis” suffix) isnotpresent, the suffix was dropped, and the name became fibromyalgia. Fibromyalgia is not an autoimmune disorder, but people who have fibromyalgia frequently also have chronic inflammatory or autoimmune disorders. Fibromyalgia and myofascial pain syndrome are not strictly synonymous, but they are similar in that they both are central pain syndromes. But myofascial pain syndrome involves mostly muscle pain, and fibromyalgia causes more widespread body pain as well as other symptoms. Fibromyalgia is common. It is about 7 times more common among women. It usually occurs in young or middle-aged women but can also occur in men, children, and adolescents. Fibromyalgia is not dangerous or life threatening. Nonetheless, persistent symptoms can be very disruptive. 