Search is Powered by Google
Pain / Anesthetics News

MayoClinic.com Focuses On Diagnosing Fibromyalgia Symptoms

Main Category: Pain / Anesthetics
Also Included In: Irritable-Bowel Syndrome
Article Date: 08 Nov 2007 - 1:00 PDT

email icon email to a friend   printer icon printer friendly   write icon view / write opinions   rate icon rate article
Current Article Ratings:

Patient / Public:4 stars

3.56 (34 votes)

Health Professional:3 and a half stars

3.25 (4 votes)

Article Opinions: 0 posts

Fibromyalgia is a chronic condition characterized by widespread pain in your muscles, ligaments and tendons, as well as fatigue and multiple tender points.

A new feature on mayoclinic.com provides users with information regarding the process for diagnosing fibromyalgia. Because there is no single, specific diagnostic laboratory test, diagnosis can be difficult. Physicians must rely on patient histories, self-reported symptoms, a physical examination and an accurate manual tender-point examination.

Signs and symptoms of fibromyalgia can vary, depending on the weather, stress, physical activity or even the time of day. Common signs and symptoms include:

- Widespread pain
- Fatigue and sleep disturbances
- Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
- Headaches and facial pain
- Heightened sensitivity

The American College of Rheumatology has established general classification guidelines for fibromyalgia to help assess and study the condition. According to these guidelines, to be diagnosed with fibromyalgia, individuals must have experienced widespread aching pain for at least three months and have a minimum of 11 locations on their body that are abnormally tender under relatively mild, firm pressure.

The new feature on Mayoclinic.com also provides an overview of treatment options, self-care suggestions, and tips to help people who have fibromyalgia cope with the condition.

About Mayoclinic.com

Launched in 1995 and now visited by more than 10 million users a month, this award-winning Web site offers health information, self-improvement, and disease management tools to empower people to manage their health. Produced by a team of Web professionals and medical experts, MayoClinic.com gives users access to the experience and knowledge of the more than 2,000 physicians and scientists of Mayo Clinic. Mayoclinic.com offers intuitive, easy-to-use tools such as "Symptom Checker" and "First-Aid Guide" for fast answers about health conditions ranging from common to complex; as well as more in-depth sections on more than 25 common diseases and conditions, healthy living articles, videos, animations and features such as "Ask a Specialist" and "Drug Watch." Users can sign up for a free weekly e-newsletter called "Housecall" which provides the latest health information from Mayo Clinic.

http://www.mayoclinic.com.




Weekly Newsletters Daily News Alerts
Home About Us News Licensing Free Website Feeds Free Tools & Content Links Tell a Friend Accessibility Help / FAQ Article Submission Contact Us
Breast Cancer Cardiovascular GI Prostate Cancer Psychiatry Respiratory Learning Resources Migraine Urology
Asthma Bipolar Blood Pressure Breast Cancer (Patient) Heartburn

Sign up to receive newsletters / news alerts
MedReader RSS Reader

Ad Banner - Chronic Pain Management in Primary Care - Individualizing Pain Relief and Improving Quality of Life


Treating Chronic Pain image Treating Chronic Pain

Chronic pain is pain that continues past the normal healing time for an injury. Learn about the causes and current treatment options, from NSAIDs to opioids, for chronic pain...

What Is Chronic Pain? image What Is Chronic Pain?

Chronic pain can affect a person 24 hours a day. What causes chronic pain? And how can you get some relief...

View more videos...

Add Your Advertisement Here