The symptoms of Fibromyalgia are common but are often overlooked due to their non-specific nature. It can take a combination of multiple symptoms to suggest a diagnosis of fibromyalgia.
The Main Symptoms
There are four cardinal features of fibromyalgia, they include:
A widespread pain that is commonly axial that is felt deep in the muscles. It is common for a sense of weakness to be associated with the pain as well. Near 25% of fibromyalgia patients also suffer from poor circulation, along with numbness and tingling, typically in the hands and arms. It is common for tests to show normal strength and no inflammation.
Stiffness is a common symptom that many fibromyalgia patients report. This stiff feeling is often worse in the morning and improves throughout the day. Physical exercise and exertion tends to make this worse, typically in the days following the activity. While this symptom is frustrating, it is not as debilitating as some of the others.
Fatigue is often one of the first symptoms reported to the doctor. The physician may initially interpret this as a lack of exercise or physical endurance. The patient may go through periods of energy, only to feel tired again a day or two later. They also may suffer from non-restorative sleep, meaning that they may wake up in the morning still groggy and tired. These two symptoms are not felt by every fibromyalgia patient, but are quite common. To read more about fibromyalgia please click here.
To discuss the treatment of fibromyalgia or any other condition with an experienced chiropractor, click here to contact A Family and Sports Chiropractic Clinic in Vancouver, Washington today.