How can fibromyalgia cause such widespread pain?

Written By: Fibromyalgia Treating

Published Date: December 4, 2014 Last Edited: December 4, 2014

If you, or someone you love, suffers from fibromyalgia is can be hard to understand what is going on in the body that is causing such distress.

The widespread pain caused by fibromyalgia can diminish a person’s quality of life greatly. One thing that you shouldn’t do is think that there is nothing you can do about the pain. There are many different treatments and methods of pain management that you can learn to help reduce your pain, and help you return to living a life that is enjoyable.

The key to it all is patience. Fibromyalgia is something that medicine is just beginning to unlock the puzzle of to eventually find a cure.

What is fibromyalgia?

Fibromyalgia is a debilitating disease that modern medicine is only just beginning to understand. It’s most common symptom presents as an overall sense of fatigue and muscle aches and pains that seem to have no reason for existing. Many people who suffer from it may also experience sleep disturbances, inflammation, swelling, IBS, migraines, numbness, stiffness in the joints and muscles, as well as an extreme sensitivity to hot and cold ambient temperatures.

It can be hard for people to understand fibromyalgia pain and what it is like to live with it because the symptoms are so pervasive. Understanding what it means to feel widespread pain is something that can be taught to people so that they have more empathy for those with fibromyalgia.

What does “widespread pain” mean?

Many people who have experienced osteoarthritis, pneumonia or an inflammatory disease have had a similar experience to the widespread pain caused by fibromyalgia. The closest you can come to explaining it to someone that has never had any of those conditions is to ask them if they remember what it felt like to have the flu when your whole body ached, you couldn’t think clearly and you didn’t have enough energy to do anything – that is very similar to the daily experience of someone with fibromyalgia. The pain can be constant, which can make it difficult to measure and treat, but not impossible.

How to physicians measure pain?

Pain is one of the most difficult things for a physician to use as a diagnostic tool. There aren’t any tests that can measure pain because it is a subjective thing. This means that everyone feels pain differently. If you have ever seen the pain scale with the different smiling to frowning faces then an attempt has been made to measure your individual pain.

What can get confusing for people is the widespread pain caused by fibromyalgia is often chronic in nature too. Physicians do take into account the nature of chronic pain when using the scale so you needn’t worry about them misunderstanding your level of pain. If you do feel that your doctor is not being appropriately responsive to your pain levels – get another doctor. It is better to start over with someone new who will connect with you than to continue with someone you do not have confidence in.

What causes fibromyalgia?

While there is no known specific cause for fibromyalgia there are several known issues that can increase your risk of developing it. If there is a history of fibromyalgia in your family you may have an increased risk of getting it. Also, if you have suffered a severe trauma or brain injury you can have an increased risk as well. Certain immune disorders and inflammatory diseases have a passing correlation to an increased risk for the disease. You cannot “catch” fibromyalgia from someone; it is not an infectious disease.

Who gets it?

Women are diagnosed with fibromyalgia 10 times more often than men, but men can and do get the disease. It seems to affect women age 40 to 60 most often, but it affects women equally across racial lines and backgrounds. It is not known if women are more susceptible to the disorder, or if the high diagnosis rate has more to do with it being studied more with women than men. Men may have different symptoms that are not yet recognized gender specific indicators of the disease.

Is there a cure?

Unfortunately, there is no known cure for the widespread pain caused by fibromyalgia, or its other symptoms. There are many treatments that are known to alleviate the symptoms and pains of the disorder. As more is understood about how it manifests in the body, better treatments will become available. What is important is that you remain willing to try new things to see if what is newly discovered can help you. To do this you must stay active and stay social – that is part of the key to maintaining wellness in your life. Learning to manage the pain associated with fibromyalgia is essential too.

How is it treated?

There isn’t any one treatment available for fibromyalgia. Depending on the person and the severity of the chronic widespread pain caused by fibromyalgia, plus the severity of any flare-ups what you may need to help maintain a good quality of life may vary.

The best treatment combines modern medicines, diet, exercise and alternative treatments. The goal is to manage pain and to allow you to live your life to the best of your ability without debilitating pain. That takes a combined effort from you, your doctor and alternative treatment providers to give you everything you could possibly need to have a good life.

What can I do to help relieve my fibromyalgia pain?

The best thing you can do for widespread pain caused by fibromyalgia is to keep a pain journal and then talk to your doctor. There are many anti-inflammatory and pain relievers that can help, as well as alternative treatments that will enable you to return to a daily fitness routine. Exercise remains one of the best ways to manage widespread pain caused by fibromyalgia. A good diet that avoids foods that are known to increase inflammation and pain is also recommended.