Fibromyositis, or fibromyalgia, is a common disease causing widespread pain in muscles and soft tissues, with other symptoms including fatigue, sleep difficulties, and cognitive problems. Diagnosis requires a history of three months of pain and tenderness at 11 of 18 tender-point sites. Treatment involves pain management and improving sleep. Risk factors include being a woman in their twenties or thirties, having a family history of the disease, and having another rheumatic disease.
Fibromyositis, also known as fibromyalgia, is a common disease that affects approximately 2% of the US population and is characterized by widespread pain in the muscles and soft tissues. The disease causes patients to experience multiple tender points, which are places on the body where only light pressure is needed to cause pain. This pain often closely resembles the pain of other diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis. Patients with fibromyositis, however, do not have any of the other features of rheumatoid arthritis, such as joint swelling and deformities. Most patients who live with this condition also consider chronic fatigue to be a defining symptom.
Other symptoms of fibromyositis can include sleep difficulties, cognitive problems, memory lapses, and exercise intolerance. It is difficult to say whether these symptoms occur in conjunction with the widespread pain of the disease, or if they are the result. Headache, dizziness and sensitivity to sensory stimuli such as noise, smell and light are also frequent symptoms of the disease.
For a patient to be diagnosed with this condition, they must have a history of three months or more of widespread pain. The patient should also experience pain or tenderness at 11 of the 18 tender-point sites. These sites are found in special points along the soft tissues and muscles of the body. Doctors often order extensive blood and imaging tests to rule out other causes of a patient’s symptoms before making the diagnosis of fibromyositis, as there is no specific diagnostic test for the disease itself.
Treatment of fibomyositis mainly consists of medications to manage pain. These can include over-the-counter medicines, such as acetaminophen, aspirin and ibuprofen, or stronger pain relievers. The treatment also aims to improve sleep for patients with the disease. Many doctors prescribe the antidepressant amitriptyline to promote restful sleep. Other antidepressants, as well as some antiepileptic drugs, may also be helpful in treating the disease.
Researchers don’t know for sure what causes fibromyositis, but they have been able to identify several risk factors that predispose a patient to the disease. Women in their twenties and thirties are at the greatest risk of being diagnosed. Those with a family history of the disease or those suffering from sleep disorders are also prone to developing it. Having another rheumatic disease, such as rheumatoid arthritis or lupus, increases a patient’s risk of also being diagnosed with fibromyositis.
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