You feel as though you have a severe case of the flu but it does not go away in 24 hours, 48 hours or even 48 days. Every muscle in your body aches. You don’t have the energy to lift your head, much less do the dishes, drive to work or walk up a flight of stairs. Your doctor can’t seem to pinpoint what’s wrong.
 
Sound familiar? If it does, you may be one of an estimated 6 to 8 million people in the United States suffering with a condition known as fibromyalgia. 
 
Because the symptoms of fibromyalgia are so similar to ordinary illnesses such as the flu, doctors often write it off as hypochondria or an active imagination. However, recent medical studies have confirmed fibromyalgia is real.

Fibromyalgia Articles: Fibromyalgia and Exercise ~ Fibromyalgia and St. John's Wort ~ Fibromyalgia and Thyroid ~ Fibromyalgia Joint Pain Relief ~ Fibromyalgia, Polymyalgia and Rheumatica ~ Fibromyalgia and Phosphorous Foods ~ Fibromyalgia and Vitamin D ~

In fact, fibromyalgia affects about 3 to 6 percent of the population of the United States. And, 80 to 90 percent of those with fibromyalgia are women. While fibromyalgia may strike anyone of any ethnicity or age, the highest incidence occurs among women 20 to 40 years of age. 
 
A chronic, arthritis-related condition, fibromyalgia is referred to as a syndrome because of the signs and symptoms that characterize it such as soft tissue tenderness, sleep disturbances, general fatigue, aches, pain and stiffness in the back, neck, hands and other parts of the body. Diagnosing patients with fibromyalgia has been confusing for those in the medical profession because almost all of the symptoms are also common in other conditions.
 
Some of the associated symptoms for fibromyalgia include chronic headaches, fatigue, cognitive or memory impairment, jaw pain, chemical sensitivities, lightheadedness, menstrual cramping, irritable bowel syndrome, disturbed sleep, muscle pain, morning stiffness, numbness and tingling sensations and dizziness.

Eliminate Fibromyalgia Pain Immediately

Still unsure whether you are a loved one has fibromyalgia? Risk factors for fibromyalgia include gender, age, sleep disorders and genetic disposition. If you have fibromyalgia, the odds that any of your brothers or sisters inherited the predisposition are 50 percent.

While the causes of fibromyalgia are unknown, if you suffer with the disorder, you are going to experience pain in the muscles, ligaments, and tendons. Although nothing has been proven as absolute, some experts suspect fibromyalgia is caused by viral or bacterial infection, an autonomic nervous system dysfunction, upper spinal cord injury, emotional stress or trauma, immune or endocrine system dysfunction or chronic sleep disorders.
 
Some medical experts believe fibromyalgia is the same as chronic fatigue syndrome because they both resemble a post-viral state.
 
A cloud of uncertainty surrounded the history of fibromyalgia in the medical community. Some of the old named used for fibromyalgia are: fibrositis, chronic psychogenic rheumatism and muscle pain syndrome.

Get Rid of Fibromyalgia Pain for Good

Then, in 1990, the American College of Rheumatology put the term fibromyalgia on the map by giving its official criteria for the diagnosis of fibromyalgia. They classify a person with fibromyalgia if he or she feels pain under pressure in at least 11 of 18 specific areas of the body. Furthermore, patients with fibromyalgia must exhibit widespread pain on both sides of the body and above and below the waist for at least a three month duration of time.
 
Fibromyalgia may feel similar to rheumatism. However, the two differ in distinct ways. Fibromyalgia mainly affects muscles and their attachments to bones rather than arthritis of a joint. Rheumatism refers to pain and stiffness associated with arthritis and related disorders of the muscles, bones and joints. In other words, although fibromyalgia may feel like a joint disease, it does not cause deformities of the joints.

Many people who suffer with fibromyalgia do not feel the sympathy of friends, family members or their co-workers and bosses. Your physician may have even told you that the pain is imagined. However, be assured treatments and alternative therapies are available for people with fibromyalgia to ease the pain and stress.

Discover Herbs and Vitamins for Fibromyalgia for joint pain relief!