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Home » Consumer Information » Children with Disabilities

Fibromyalgia

Fibromyalgia is a long-term disorder that affects the muscles and surrounding soft tissue as well as ligaments and tendons. The primary side effects include muscle achiness, fatigue, interrupted sleep, and tenderness in various regions of the body. People suffering from fibromyalgia compare it to what if might feel like to have a flu virus that just won't go away.

Other terms used in place of fibromyalgia include fibromyositis, fibrositis, periarticular fibrositis, muscular rheumatism, chronic muscle pain syndrome, musculoskeletal pain syndrome, and tension myalgia. Fibromyalgia has gradually become the term of preference because it literally means "pain of the muscles and other fibrous tissue." The ones with the suffix "itis" are erroneous because it stands for "inflammation," and inflammation is not a significant trait of fibromyalgia.

Symptoms

Muscle pain running through the entire body or just in certain parts is the most noticeable symptom of fibromyalgia. This pain can be anywhere from slight discomfort to excruciating enough to keep the victim from working and participating in social events and routine tasks. A person with fibromyalgia will typically experience soreness of the neck, shoulders, chest, ribs, lower back, and thighs. The pain may be described as burning, gnawing, pulsating, piercing, or nagging and gradually become worse. It tends to be more bothersome when the person is sitting still rather than during movement.

Another trait of fibromyalgia is the existence of "tender points," or muscles and tendons sensitive to the touch. Tender points can be found in the neck, back, knees, shoulders, elbows, and hips.
Fibromyalgia patients may be mildly or severely exhausted and experience sleep disorders such as insomnia. This sleep disruption can be caused by involuntary movement of the arms and legs, sleep apnea, or teeth grinding.

Causes

Medical professionals are not entirely sure what causes fibromyalgia, but they do believe it stems from lack of sleep or a traumatic event affecting the brain, spinal cord, or nerves. Others think that a virus or bacteria is to blame. Overproduction of chemicals released in conjunction with pain also promotes some of the symptoms brought on by fibromyalgia. Any of these risk factors may be responsible of the onset of symptoms related to fibromyalgia in someone who has a family history of the disorder.

If you are experiencing symptoms related to fibromyalgia and have been involved in a severe accident that resulted in a brain or spinal cord injury, you may be eligible to receive compensation. Depending on your injury, you will want to contact a brain injury attorney or spinal cord injury attorney to discuss the possibilities.