chronic pain

Last time I talked about the diagnostic definition of fibromyalgia. This time I will continue to discuss another unique clinical feature of this syndrome, and that is the low pain tolerance of this patient group, especially toward pressure. This will further lead us to discuss the concept of central sensitization.

Total Psychological?
When a heavy coat is put on our shoulder or someone puts their hand on our shoulder, we feel an associated weight or pressure. However, people with fibromyalgia may feel the pressure painful. The perception of the same amount of physical stimuli is different between normal and fibromyalgia. Is it psychological? Or, is there any physiological explanation?

Sensory Stimulus to Interpretation

The term Fibromyalgia is widely used nowadays. Quite a number of people say they have fibromyalgia, especially with chronic pain over multiple parts of their body. However, how much do you understand this condition? We know it's meaning, derived from three words: "fibro" (fibrous tissue), "myo" (muscles), and "algia" (pain). However, medically, there is still a lot we do not know about it.

Not a Disease
Fibromyalgia affects middle aged women. The incidence is much more in female than male. We still do not know either the cause or the course of it. Therefore, fibromyalgia is considered a syndrome, not a disease. A syndrome is a collection of symptoms. The hallmark of fibromyalgia is the generalized, chronic musculoskeletal pain. However, it is commonly associated with psychologically-related symptoms such as anxiety and stress.