As time passes, eventually all pains will have their own names. Just like the term fibromyalgia. Fibromyalgia is a chronic condition associated with pain in the muscles and soft tissues surrounding the joints. There are only theories as to the causes of fibromyalgia. Some people believe that a continual disturbance in sleep may promote the development of fibromyalgia. Depression may also be a factor in fibromyalgia. Some people get fibromyalgia after they've experienced a trauma or accident and this is called, reactive fibromyalgia. Lack of exercise and the brain not producing enough growth hormones are also potential causes of fibromyalgia.



The effects of fibromyalgia can encompass the whole body. Most people will feel the pain in their muscles, back, neck and soft tissue. The severity of the pain can bring on fatigue and the combination of both could be debilitating. Other symptoms related to fibromyalgia include headaches, problems concentrating, irritable bowel syndrome and stiffness in the mornings. Symptoms have a tendency to come and go. For some people, the symptoms maybe worse during cold and damp weather, but not all people will have all the symptoms.

There is no single test that the doctors can give to diagnose fibromyalgia, but there are two major factors that are considered, when trying to diagnose fibromyalgia. One is the presence of widespread pain, which is defined as pain on both sides of the body, above and below the waist. And the other is tender points. There are 18 designated tender points on the body so if someone feels pain in at least 11 of the tender points, then there's an increased possibility that it could be fibromyalgia. However, before fibromyalgia can be concluded as the condition certain other ailments that produce symptoms similar to fibromyalgia, have to be ruled out. Ailments such as thyroid disease, lyme disease and chronic fatigue syndrome.

There is no cure for fibromyalgia. The best anyone can do is to try to treat and control the symptoms. Some of the things people can do for themselves are exercise regularly, eat healthily and reduce stress and find ways to improve sleeping habits. Some people can get temporary relief by applying heat to their painful areas. Of course, there are also drugs that can be used in treatment. Tricyclic antidepressants have shown to be effective in improving sleep problems. New drugs like gabapentin and meloxicam are appearing to be effective in dealing with the pain of fibromyalgia.

Fibromyalgia appears to be a mystery disease. Nobody knows what causes it, even though it's been around for some time. Unfortunately for females, the condition affects them more than males. Because so much is still unknown about fibromyalgia, there's no way to prevent it. Trying to live with fibromyalgia appears to be the only thing people can do. The difficulty in trying to live a normal life is that the pain can be so bad that some people aren't able to work and the condition can destroy a person's social life as well. Fibromyalgia appears to be another one of life's obstacles that people must overcome.