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.