All about Fibromyalgia

What is Fibromyalgia?

Fibromyalgia is a condition, which causes muscular pain. This is accompanied by the softening of tissues around joins, causing a lot of pain and discomfort near the bone joints. Fatigue is another common symptom associated with this condition. Stiffness and sleep disorders are also common symptoms of this disease. The ?tender areas? of the body, such as the hip joints, the elbows, the knees and the area around the neck are the most affected regions.

This is a bizarre condition. A doctor makes a diagnosis when a person has had pain in at least 11 of the 18 characteristic tender points for three months or longer.

Symptoms of Fibromyalgia

1.    Many people confronted with the disorder experience an intensification of fibromyalgia symptoms over time. In most patients, the fibromyalgia symptoms also tend to spread throughout the entire body.

2.    Pain is the most prominent symptom of Fibromyalgia. It’s widespread—you can feel it from the head down to the knees—and pain becomes more severe when pressure is applied. In some patients, the painful body part becomes stiff and difficult to move.

3.    Difficulty sleeping and experiencing extreme fatigue are also signals. These experiences are some of the common symptoms, and they can cause an extreme disruption in your life.

4.    Yet another of the “common” symptoms many people with the disorder suffer from and experience are intense levels of depression and anxiety.

5.    Other common symptoms of Fibromyalgia are Irritable Bowel Syndrome, which includes diarrhea and constipation; migraine; facial pain; painful menstrual periods; tingling sensations; chest pain; increase in sensitivity and dizziness.

Causes of Fibromyalgia

1.    What causes fibromyalgia is still a mystery. Researchers believe it has something to do with the way the brain and central nervous system (CNS) interprets pain. Elevated levels of certain neurochemicals in the CNS have been noted in people with fibromyalgia.

2.    Viral infections have also been blamed for the development of this disease in individuals. A number of scientist claim that the disease may also be caused due to food allergy from food products such as fermented foods, eggplant, dairy products, wheat and potatoes.

3.    Sleep disorders are also suspected to be causes of fibromyalgia. Statistics indicate that more than 95 percent of people with fibromyalgia suffer from sleep apnea or insomnia. Until recently, scientists believed that sleep disorders were the consequence of fibromyalgia but it now turns out to be the other way around.

4.    Injury can also lead to the development of fibromyalgia in some people in particular injury to the upper spine or injury that affects your central nervous system.

5.    Another cause of fibromyalgia appears to be poor muscle oxygenation. Medical scientists claim that inappropriate oxygenation of the muscles is a plausible explanation for symptoms such as muscular weakness and stiffness, similar to the manifestations of rheumatoid arthritis. Although medical scientists haven’t yet unveiled the factors that prevent the oxygenation of the muscles, future research might provide medicine with an answer to the puzzle.