The Mysterious Condition of Fibromyalgia

 

It sneaks in unannounced and makes itself completely at home. It affects every aspect of life, turning days into challenges. This unwelcome arrival frequently manages to hide so it is almost invisible, yet it shows little sign of leaving. This is fibromyalgia (FM), often referred to as “fibro,” and it affects millions of Americans every year. The vast majority of those afflicted, an estimated 95 percent, are women.

Ask some physicians to explain fibromyalgia, and they will tell you it is a condition that exists in the minds of hysterical females; others will claim it is an unidentified health problem that requires additional sleep and an occasional pain reliever. A growing number of medical professionals, however, will tell you what the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) determined in 1990. They would confirm it is an actual medical syndrome that affects all four body quadrants, causes widespread pain for at least three months, and involves at least 11 “tender points” among 18 sites on the body.   
 

The sites are overly sensitive to stimuli that typically would not cause pain. Fibromyalgia is a real condition creating real problems for people of all ages and ethnic backgrounds and can be experienced concurrently with hepatitis B and C. Viral infections often appear in the medical backgrounds of those suffering from fibromyalgia. It is not known how the occurrence of a viral disease, such as hepatitis, is specifically linked to the condition.