fibrositis – BACK PAIN BLOG UK…

Health Central say that about 10 million Americans, or 2% to 4% of the population, have fibromyalgia. Four women for every one man have been diagnosed with it, though the actual number of men may be a bit higher. There is currently no cure for fibromyalgia, but there are medications to treat it, as well as lifestyle changes that can help lessen the pain and other symptoms.

That’s why Health Central, talked to top Fibromyalgia experts to give you the knowledge you need on risk factors, treatments, and symptoms so you can continue to live your life. Recently, they produced an informative, medically reviewed guide on All Things Fibromyalgia.

This is where they share expert advice from top experts in the field to answer all of your Fibromyalgia questions! They have a great FAQ section with questions and answers on things like ‘What causes Fibromyalgia?’, ‘Who gets Fibromyalgia?’, ‘Are there non drug ways to treat Fibromyalgia?’ and lots more to read through.

One thing I learnt from Health Central about Fibromyalgia which I did not know before was that the American Medical Association did not consider Fibromyalgia as an official disorder until 1987 !!!!Yet, research shows that it was first written about in 1642 as a muscular rheumatism, and then renamed “fibrositis” in the early 1900’s. In the 1950’s my Mum used to suffer from the then named “fibrositis” quite often. I can remember as a child that she had it so badly once that she could not get her head off the pillow and the GP came to the house and gave her a painkilling injection to help ease the pain.

It became called Fibromyalgia in 1976, when it was named from the Latin word fibro, which means fibrous tissue, and the Greek words mio, meaning muscle, and algia, meaning pain. And yet some GP’s still do not think this is a real condition !! Seriously – they just need to look at the medical books of many years ago to realise how long this has been around.

Health Central go on to say that in 1990, the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) created its first diagnostic criteria for fibromyalgia, which led it to being added to the International Classification of Diseases in 1992. So, anyone who is having trouble getting a true diagnosis that this is a real condition should make a note of this.

Head over the Health Central website for lots more information and their Fibromyalgia Hub.

In the past, it has been called ‘Rheumatism’ and ‘Fibrositis’. It is now firmly established that a central nervous system (CNS) dysfunction is primarily responsible for the increased pain and sensitivity of Fibromyalgia.

The tendency to develop Fibromyalgia Syndrome may be inherited. Many mothers with Fibromyalgia have children with it as well. I was just one of those. My mum used to suffer from fibrositis nearly every winter and would sometimes require injections for pain in order for her to get out of bed. The pain, however, was limited to her neck and shoulders and down her arms. I also started suffering from the same symptoms in my teens.

They say that you cannot have Fibromyalgia only on your back or in your hands. You either have it all over or you don’t have it at all. Well, I have to disagree. At the moment I am suffering from an acute attack of what I would call Fibrositis which is in my neck and shoulders (particularly one side of my neck) but my other pains are not as acute as the pain in my neck. I feel as though I have been in a draft which is something that can trigger my Fibrositis.

Fibromyalgia is not a diagnosis of exclusivity. You may have co-existing conditions, such as MS, arthritis, and/or myofascial pain, and still, have Fibromyalgia pain.It is not a disease but a syndrome, which means a specific set of signs and symptoms that occur together. Rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and many other serious conditions are also classified as syndromes.

If you put Fibrositis into google the dictionary comes up with ‘inflammation of fibrous connective tissue, typically affecting the back and causing stiffness and pain’. It doesn’t specifically mention your neck but typically in your back. I personally think it’s all the same thing and that in the 60’s they called it ‘Fibrositis’ and since then because it started affecting other parts of the body so they called it ‘Fibromyalgia’.

Collins dictionary says ‘fibrositis is in the lower 50% of commonly used words in the Collins dictionary’ which implies that they no longer use this name much but what puzzles me is that maybe some people are suffering from ‘fibrositis’ as opposed to ‘fibromyalgia’ as they only get the pain in their neck and shoulders.

They also say that Fibromyalgia is not the same as chronic myofascial pain, there is no such a thing as a Fibromyalgia trigger point. Trigger points are part of myofascial pain and not Fibromyalgia. It is also is not the same as Chronic Fatigue Immune Dysfunction Syndrome. It is not just widespread pain or achy muscles, nor is it an autoimmune condition and can often be triggered off by an event that activates biochemical changes, causing a cascade of symptoms.

When you read all these different symptoms of Fibro it makes you realise why it has taken so long for some people to be diagnosed. A good Rheumatologist with a lot of knowledge on the symptoms of Fibromyalgia is an obvious advantage. What are your views on this?