![]() ![]() ![]() ( 5)Īt present, there are no tests that can be used to definitively diagnose fibromyalgia. Now, if you experience widespread pain - over a large area of your body - for more than three months, with no other possible cause, you’ll likely be diagnosed with the condition, notes the Mayo Clinic. However, doctors are moving away from the tender point exam in the diagnosis of fibromyalgia. Historically, fibromyalgia was diagnosed by having a doctor check 18 specific points on the body to see how many of them were painful when pressed firmly. Fibromyalgia is often seen in families, and having a relative with the disorder puts you at increased risk for it.īut genes alone aren’t responsible for fibromyalgia, according to the American College of Rheumatology. To complicate matters, fibromyalgia can also occur seemingly spontaneously, in the absence of trauma. The actual pain receptors in the brain may also undergo changes, developing a kind of “memory” that leads them to overreact to pain signals. Some experts believe these events may trigger the onset of the disorder, but it’s unclear exactly how this connection could be explained.Īccording to the Mayo Clinic, repeated stimulation may cause the brains of people with fibromyalgia to change - leading to an increase in chemicals known as neurotransmitters that signal pain. Symptoms of fibromyalgia often begin after physical or emotional trauma, such as an illness, surgery, infection, a stressful life event, or injury. It’s also not an autoimmune disorder - a condition in which the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissues. While pain in fibromyalgia may feel like it’s coming from a specific area of your body, it’s actually originating in your brain, specifically from the central nervous system.Įven though it’s often grouped with rheumatic diseases like arthritis and lupus, fibromyalgia isn’t considered to be a disease of inflammation, or a joint or muscle disorder. Researchers don't know exactly what causes fibromyalgia, but it seems to occur when the body's central nervous system doesn't process pain properly. ![]()
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