PURPOSE Fibromyalgia is a syndrome of unknown origin with a high prevalence. Multimodal approaches seem to be the treatment of choice in fibromyalgia. A multidisciplinary program was developed and implemented for patients with fibromyalgia in the primary care setting. The program included education (seven sessions) and physical therapy (25 sessions). METHOD Patients were referred to the progr...

BACKGROUND Although previous studies report associations between increased body mass index (BMI) and fibromyalgia symptoms, there is uncertainty as to whether this relationship is driven by physical factors, psychological factors, or both. OBJECTIVE To assess these relationships in a clinical sample of patients with fibromyalgia. DESIGN Cross-sectional study. SETTING Tertiary care facilit...

OBJECTIVE To obtain descriptive epidemiological data on fibromyalgia and its components in a representative sample of the Finnish population. DESIGN Cross sectional study of 8000 Finns aged 30 or more invited for screening and a main examination for musculoskeletal disorders and other major disorders. SETTING A mobile clinic. POPULATION 7217 subjects who attended the screening phase; 3434...

OBJECTIVE To investigate perceived exertion at work in women with fibromyalgia. DESIGN A controlled cross-sectional multi-centre study. SUBJECTS AND METHODS Seventy-three women with fibromyalgia and 73 healthy women matched by occupation and physical workload were compared in terms of perceived exertion at work (0-14), muscle strength, 6-min walk test, symptoms rated by Fibromyalgia Impact ...

There has been a dramatic increase in our understanding of fibromyalgia throughout the past 14 years since the publication of the 1990 American College of Rheumatology classification criteria. Before 1990, and for most of the 20th century, fibromyalgia was considered to be predominantly a muscle disorder; now the critical abnormality is described as "central sensitization." However, central sen...

The main objective of this work was to evaluate the characteristics of sleep in patients diagnosed with fibromyalgia syndrome. Sleep architecture in 32 patients with fibromyalgia and 20 healthy controls was evaluated. Following the recommendations of the International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology, polysomnographies were conducted with fibromyalgia patients and the control subjects. Th...

We report a male patient with fibromyalgia that significantly improved pain and associated symptoms without medication, physical therapy or psychotherapy. Psychological stress has been implicated in the origin of fibromyalgia and avoidance of stress may be pivotal to its treatment. There are no conclusive studies demonstrating the beneficial effects of diet to treat fibromyalgia, however some r...

tender points in patients with fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) with therapeutic infrared laser ray [abstract]. Arthritis Rheum 1997; 40:S44. 22. Rao S, Bennet R. Pharmacological therapies in fibromyalgia. Best Pract Res Rheumatol 2003;17:611–27. 23. American College of Rheumatology Subcommittee on Rheumatoid Arthritis Guidelines. Guidelines for the management of rheumatoid arthritis. Arthritis Rheu...

OBJECTIVES Fibromyalgia has always attracted controversy. Wolfe states that fibromyalgia will always exist regardless of the name given to the syndrome. Hadler describes fibromyalgia as a form of illness behaviour escalated by labelling. However, we believe that fibromyalgia, as other functional somatic syndromes, is not waiting below the surface until it becomes manifest by labelling. METHOD...

OBJECTIVE To quantify autonomic dysfunction in fibromyalgia patients compared to healthy controls using heart rate variability (HRV). METHODS Sixteen patients with fibromyalgia and 16 healthy controls were recruited in this case control study. HRV was measured using the time-domain method incorporating the following parameters: total heartbeats, the mean of intervals between consecutive heart...