Science of Fibromyalgia

People with fibromyalgia have muscle pain that is widespread. They also experience tenderness in certain places in their body. Other symptoms can commonly include sleep problems and tiredness.

How pain works

Every part of the body receives electrical signals from the nerves in your brain. When something causes pain, your nerve endings pick up pain signals. They carry these messages along nerves to the spinal cord and then to the brain. Your brain processes these pain messages and sends the signals back to your body in the form of pain.

What causes the pain of fibromyalgia?

With fibromyalgia, changes may occur in the nerve and brain cells. Due to these changes, people with fibromyalgia may become very sensitive to touch and feel pain more strongly. In scientific studies, it was shown that people with fibromyalgia report more intense feelings of pain. It’s as though the "volume control" for pain is turned up. In several studies it was shown that people with fibromyalgia react more strongly to pain signals than people without the condition.

Hope for the future

New research in brain imaging and neuroscience is being carried out by scientists all the time. People will keep working to better understand the causes of fibromyalgia and the role the central nervous system plays. Medical researchers are also working to know more about how fibromyalgia affects your body. As they do, hope for coping with this lifelong condition will grow.

Key point to keep in mind: People with fibromyalgia are more sensitive to pain. Researchers are studying the role of the central nervous system in fibromyalgia.