Fibromyalgia is a lesion of extraarticular soft tissues, which is characterized by musculoskeletal pain of diffuse nature. Also, when the physician feels the anatomical patches, painful points are found which are a manifestation of fibromyalgia.
A feature of the disease is also that psychological disorders can cause the overflow of fibromyalgia into a chronic form.
Symptoms of fibromyalgia
Symptoms of fibromyalgia are not limited to pain in a particular area. Sometimes the signs of the disease are not taken seriously, or the patient can find them a manifestation of another ailment. So, one of the main symptoms is fatigue, it is seen in 87% of patients with fibromyalgia. This symptom can be explained by a change of weather, a psychological disorder or other factors completely unrelated to the disease.
After sufficient sleep, the patient also does not experience a full sense of recovery. The feeling of fatigue and lack of sleep is accompanied by headaches that resemble migraines, often a sore whiskey. Such manifestations of the disease provoke an emotional disorder that threatens the development of depression.
The symptoms of fibromyalgia are such that they can include several disorders that are displayed in the following diseases:
- irritable bowel syndrome;
- vestibular disorders characterized by headaches and dizziness;
- primary dysmenorrhea;
- syndrome of hypermobility of joints (increased skin extensibility, joint looseness and much more);
- syndrome of irritation of the bladder;
- Raynaud's syndrome (cold snap, numbness and pain in the hands);
- dysfunction of the temporomandibular joint;
- mesh livedo (damage to the skin and blood vessels).
Such diseases are a manifestation of fibromyalgia. But nevertheless, the distinctive feature of the disease is the presence of painful points, which can be detected only in the diagnosis of fibromyalgia. This is because other diseases, accompanied by musculoskeletal pain, have no such symptom.
Diagnosis of fibromyalgia
Diagnosis of the disease is very difficult. In order to identify the main difference (pain points), the doctor should correctly feel the anatomical areas, namely:
- Feeling is done only with your fingers.
- The pressure should not be more than 4 kg.
- The presence of eleven painful points from eighteen is the decisive factor for the formulation of the diagnosis.
Positive points where the patient is experiencing pain are located in the back, gluteal region, humerus and lumbosacral region.
Treatment of fibromyalgia
The essence of the treatment of fibromyalgia with medicinal preparations depends on the symptomatology of the disease. So, if there is a psychological disorder, then antidepressants are mandatory. The usual course of treatment is 1-1.5 months.
It is often enough to use anti-inflammatory drugs to treat fibromyalgia:
- ointments;
- pills;
- gels;
- injections.
In a complex with them muscular relaxants are appointed, which help to reduce muscle tone and exert analgesic effect.
Together with medicamental treatment, physiotherapeutic procedures are prescribed in the form of:
- massage;
- cryotherapy ;
- balneotherapy.
The patient can also recommend daily doing gymnastics with special exercises that help to remove chronic pain in muscles and fatigue. Some patients need psychological rehabilitation, so they are sent to psychotherapy or autogenous training.