Fibromyalgia is a chronic syndrome characterised by the presence of widespread chronic pain. In most cases it is accompanied by other symptoms:

• Sleep disturbances (insomnia, poor sleep, etc.).
• Cognitive difficulties such as memory problems, attention problems or lack of concentration.
• Somatic symptoms such as headache, irritable bowel syndrome, vertigo or morning stiffness, among others.
• Emotional disorders, mainly depression or anxiety.

The variability of fibromyalgia symptoms explains the impact of this syndrome on patients’ quality of life, as it interferes with their social, work and emotional life. Fibromyalgia is more common in women than in men and mainly starts between the ages of 20 and 50. The disease is diagnosed clinically and there are no complementary tests to indicate that someone is suffering from the disease, but we do have to rule out other pathologies that can produce similar symptoms and that can benefit from specific treatments.

Treating fibromyalgia

The cause of fibromyalgia is unknown and we currently have no treatments that we can define as offering a cure. That said, there is increasing consensus among the medical community that central sensitisation phenomena play a key role in the formation, worsening and persistence of pain. In other words, the central nervous system in fibromyalgia patients processes pain poorly.

Our efforts should focus on controlling the symptoms as far as possible in order to improve the person’s quality of life and increase their activity and participation. Occasionally, patients enter a vicious cycle of suffering with a response from their threat/flight system that leads to them overinterpreting their symptoms and acquiring potentially negative pain avoidance behaviours. Some of the main acquired behaviours are an increase in the consumption of analgesics and anti-inflammatory drugs (most of which are ineffective), giving up physical activity, or the appearance of symptoms like anxiety. All of these situations can help increase or perpetuate the pain.