an overwhelming urge to move your legs (restless legs syndrome) tingling, numbness, prickling or burning sensations in your hands and feet (pins and needles, also known as paraesthesia) in women, unusually painful periods.
Leg pain is common in fibromyalgia. It may be caused by fibromyalgia itself or by other conditions that are common in fibromyalgia. These include neuropathy, RLS, ITB syndrome, MPS, and certain autoimmune diseases including rheumatoid arthritis and lupus. Treatment depends on your diagnosis.
The most common symptom of fibromyalgia is pain all over the body. The pain typically lasts for at least three months.
As a result, patients with fibromyalgia may lose their ability to walk faster or their capacity to maintain balance while standing as their gait changes, according to a study published in Frontiers in Human Science. They may also have difficulty moving about due to pain and stiffness.
Fibromyalgia is a condition that causes pain in muscles and soft tissues all over the body. It is an ongoing (chronic) condition. It can affect your neck, shoulders, back, chest, hips, buttocks, arms, and legs. The pain may be worse in the morning and evening.
Fibromyalgia was formerly classified as an inflammatory musculoskeletal disease but is now considered to be an illness that primarily affects the central nervous system.
If you have fibromyalgia, one of the main symptoms is likely to be widespread pain. This may be felt throughout your body, but could be worse in particular areas, such as your back or neck. The pain is likely to be continuous, although it may be better or more severe at different times.
Several rheumatic diseases can mimic fibromyalgia. These include sero-negative rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, Lyme disease, polymyalgia rheumatica and lupus. They have symptoms of widespread pain along with joint involvement.
While MS and fibro may have some symptoms in common, they are ultimately distinct conditions with very different causes and treatments. Fibromyalgia and multiple sclerosis are both chronic diseases with no cure. Fibromyalgia and multiple sclerosis can both cause some of the same symptoms.
Fibromyalgia is often triggered by an event that causes physical stress or emotional (psychological) stress. Possible triggers include: a serious injury, such as after a car accident. an infection, such as Epstein-Barr virus or Lyme disease.
Gabapentin (Neurontin) is sometimes helpful in reducing fibromyalgia symptoms, while pregabalin (Lyrica) was the first drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat fibromyalgia.
Magnesium
Women with fibromyalgia may be deficient in magnesium, studies suggest. And magnesium may help relieve fibro pain and other symptoms.
Common Medications for Fibromyalgia
Duloxetine (Cymbalta), milnacipran (Savella) and pregabalin (Lyrica) are FDA-approved to specifically treat fibromyalgia. Others are used “off-label” – meaning, they're used by doctors because of observed benefits but are not FDA-approved for fibromyalgia.
Physiotherapy is an effective method of treatment that will help relieve some of the symptoms you are experiencing as a result of fibromyalgia. The main aims of physiotherapy in the treatment of fibromyalgia are to reduce your pain and stiffness using a combination of strategies.
Fibromyalgia can be associated with ocular symptoms (foreign body sensation, irritation) and visual disturbances (blurred vision), coexisting with dry eye syndrome and reduced corneal sensitivity. Cases of scleritis, including the necrotizing form, accompanying fibromyalgia have been reported.
Both fibromyalgia and polymyalgia are more common in women than men. Fibromyalgia can occur at any age, but polymyalgia rarely occurs before age 50. The average age of onset is 70. And whereas fibromyalgia is chronic, often lasting a lifetime, polymyalgia usually resolves itself within two years.
The central feature of fibromyalgia is chronic pain in multiple sites. These sites are the head, each arm, the chest, the abdomen, each leg, the upper back and spine, and the lower back and spine (including the buttocks). The pain may be mild to severe. It may feel like a deep ache, or a stabbing, burning pain.
There is no specific blood test to diagnose fibromyalgia. Your physician may take blood to screen for other diseases and rule other diseases, such as hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid gland), polymyalgia rheumatica, rheumatoid arthritis, or lupus.
Diagnosing fibromyalgia
If you think you have fibromyalgia, visit your GP. Diagnosing fibromyalgia can be difficult, as there's no specific test to diagnose the condition. The symptoms of fibromyalgia can vary and are similar to those of several other conditions.
Regular gentle exercise is one of the most effective ways that fibromyalgia flare ups can be avoided or diminished and pain managed. Exercise in moderation may increase pain at first but may help prevent or improve pain over time and build up endurance, muscle strength, avoidance of depression, and boost moods.
Fibromyalgia is diagnosed based primarily on having pain all over the body, along with other symptoms. Currently, there are no specific laboratory or imaging tests for fibromyalgia.
The main symptom of fibromyalgia is pain and tenderness in muscles and joints throughout your body. Fibromyalgia also causes several other symptoms, such as: fatigue. trouble sleeping.