What is Fibromyalgia?

Fibromyalgia is very misunderstood. Medical professionals cannot even settle on a classification. I have read some medical journals that classify fibromyalgia as a disease, while some still classify it as a syndrome. To keep things simple, I will just use disorder.

Fibromyalgia is more of a term than a classification to widespread muscular pain that is chronic and has no obvious cause the pain is usually a burning or throbbing sensation, leaving the muscles and joints achy and stiff. Its predominant symptom is pain in the fibrous tissues, muscles, tendons, and ligaments, among other symptoms that may be experienced. The pain from fibromyalgia alone can be so severe that it can render people completely disabled. The worst part is that it can be complicated by, or magnify, symptoms of other diseases. One example of this is chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). Even though they are different, they are closely linked and sufferers from each experience symptoms similar to either. Other conditions that may be present include irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), premenstrual syndrome, palpations, and temporomandibular joint syndrome (TMJ).

There is much needed information that at this time is just not known. There is ongoing research being conducted so hopefully we will have a better understanding soon. In the United States, it is estimated that 3 to 6 million people are affected with this disorder. Reports show that the vast majority of the sufferers are women between the ages of 25 and 45. Even though this may be somewhat accurate, I would by no means consider this conclusive. Considering inadequate testing due to high health care costs, and men naturally not wanting to go to the doctor, we have no way of knowing how many people are truly affected.