Publisher's Synopsis
Fibromyalgia is the health condition that has baffled the medical community since being identified, is beginning to step into the light. The condition is characterized by fatigue, musculoskeletal pain, mood issues, sleep disturbance and, sometimes, memory issues. The pain and fatigue of fibromyalgia are often spread throughout the whole body, complicating efforts to locate a source.People with fibromyalgia experience muscular pain, often in the form of a constant or semi-constant ache, both above and below the waist. There are 18 identified points on the body, named "tender points," that hurt when pressure is applied to them if someone is suffering from fibromyalgia. Some of these tender points are found on the back of the head, the upper chest, the tops and sides of the hips, the inner knee and between the shoulder blades. Fatigue, sleep disorders, depression, headaches and irritable bowel syndrome often accompany fibromyalgia.The exact mechanisms through which fibromyalgia causes pain and other symptoms are not scientifically proven, but researchers are making frantic efforts that will allowed them to begin shaping a theory. The current theory states that abnormalities in pain processing centers of the brain and in biochemistry are responsible for the widespread pain that characterizes fibromyalgia. The brain of a person with this condition senses pain when there should be none, and so the individual feels pain. This altered biochemical state can be triggered by an injury, infection, or traumatic event. It can also arise with no identifiable trigger.
