Chronic pain is a general medical condition in which physical discomfort, resulting from illness or injury, lasts over a long period. Acute pain that occurs again and again, over time, also can be classified as chronic pain. Fibromyalgia is one example of chronic pain. Fibromyalgia is a specific medical condition of chronic pain in which nerve stimuli causing pain develops within muscular tissue. As a result, there is increased chronic pain from fibromyalgia during physical movement and activity. The symptoms of fibromyalgia can be worsened by strenuous exertion.
Tender Points
Recent discoveries in research have begun to shed light on the mystery of chronic pain. A lot of these new findings are particularly relevant to chronic pain of fibromyalgia. While the fundamental trait of fibromyalgia is widespread physical pain, there is a key finding that differentiates fibromyalgia from chronic pain: the presence of areas of increased pain sensitivity called “tender points.” Tender points mean that the patient has a localized area of reduced pain threshold, indicating a peripheral pathology. Tender points often develop at muscle tendon junctures, where movement and mechanical forces are most likely to inflict micro-injuries.
Decreased Pain Threshold
Another hallmark of fibromyalgia is that many (but not all) fibromyalgia patients complain of skin tenderness and experience an overall decrease in pain threshold. This suggests that some fibromyalgia patients have a generalized pain amplification state. On that point, there have been several recent experimental studies relevant to both the peripheral and central aspects of chronic pain.
Heightened Sensitivity to Pain
One recent study suggests that fibromyalgia patients may have more connectivity between neurological networks and parts of the brain involved in processing the sensation of pain. Fibromyalgia patients may experience a heightened sensitivity to pain. This discovery could help explain why chronic pain fibromyalgia patients suffer aches and pains of which there is no clear origin.