Fibromyalgia is characterized by widespread physical pain, fatigue, sleep disturbance, neurocognitive dysfunction, mood issues, and other manifestations.
Learn more about fibromyalgia to cope better.
Fibromyalgia (FM) is now recognized by medical science as an illness. The American College of Rheumatology established the criteria for the condition in 1990. It was then defined as a distinct medical condition now known as “fibromyalgia”. In 1992, the World Health Organization officially recognized the diagnosis of fibromyalgia.
Fibromyalgia has been around for a very long time, but its name has changed over the years, to include fibrositis, polyalgia, etc.
The Characteristics of Fibromyalgia
In the body of people who have fibromyalgia, nerve fibres are abnormally sensitive and active. This heightened sensitivity is more painful for people with fibromyalgia than for those who don’t have the condition.
Fibromyalgia is therefore a condition of hyperexcitability of the central nervous system. It is mainly characterized by pain in the muscles, joints, ligaments, and tendons throughout the body. However, these pains are not accompanied by inflammation.
Prevalence
The incidence rate of fibromyalgia in Canada is estimated to be between 3.3% and 5%. In Quebec alone, this translates to between 260,000 and 400,000 people. Fibromyalgia is also six to nine times more common in women than in men, and the average age of people with FM is between 30 and 55.
The condition can affect children, teenagers, and the elderly.