Has pain become a constant unwanted visitor in your life?
When your doctor asks you, “Where does it hurt,” are you tempted to say, “Everywhere!”
What is fibromyalgia?
Fibromyalgia, often linked with Vitamin B12 deficiency (National Institutes of Health), is a condition which causes sufferers to feel chronic pain in various parts of the body at all times. According to the American College of Rheumatology, symptoms of fibromyalgia include severe pain in at least 11 points of the body which doctors access in order to diagnose fibromyalgia.
These 9 pairs of pressure points on your body are are used by physicians to determine a fibromyalgia diagnosis:
- Pain on either side of the back of the neck could indicate fibromyalgia; neck pain might also be caused by sleeping in an awkward position or by rheumatoid arthritis.
- The front of the neck is another hot spot for fibromyalgia pain; potential sufferers may feel pain above the collarbone and adjacent to the larynx
- .Tender spots below the bend of your elbows towards the outside of your forearms are typical for fibromyalgia patients; tendonitis or repetitive motions may also cause elbow pain.
- Fibromyalgia patients often feel pain in the lower hip areas, close to the buttock muscles, while arthritis patients typically experience pain at the joints of the hips.
- Approximately 25% of all adults experience lower back pain. Individuals diagnosed with fibromyalgia feel their back pain at the lowest point where the spine adjoins with the buttock muscles.
- Most people experience upper back pain every once in a while as a result of stress or injury; people with fibromyalgia experience extreme discomfort at the points where the shoulder blades connect with the back muscles.
- Above the upper back area, where the shoulders meet the lower neck, are some more troublesome tender spots for fibromyalgia patients.
- Fibromyalgia patients who suffer from knee aches tend to feel tenderness in the inner knee pad areas.
- Soreness in the chest area, on either side of the sternum, is another telltale sign that somebody might require fibromyalgia treatment.
Sources:
Health.com, American College of Rheumatology, National Institutes of Health