It is a disorder that causes widespread pain of muscles and joints in the body, with associated chronic fatigue. There are 18 “tender points” of fibromyalgia on the body and people have an increased sensitivity to things that are usually not painful or unpleasant. People can experience a level of fatigue that does not correlate with their activity levels or sleep pattern.
There is no known cause for Fibromyalgia, which makes it very difficult to diagnose and treat.
Most common symptoms include:
-
Widespread muscle pain, stiffness and tenderness in muscles and joints (“tender points”)
-
Restless sleep/waking up after a night’s rest feeling very tired
-
Anxiety and depression
-
Fatigue
-
Poor memory or a feeling of brain “fogginess”
How can physiotherapy help?
-
Help patients understand pain and symptoms through education
-
Exercise therapy
-
Relief of muscle and joint stiffness, tenderness and pain
Image: Google images
