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Fibromyalgia
There are so many sites online already dealing with the painful reality of Fibromyalgia that anything I would write here would simply be repetitious. Simply put, "Physicians refer to fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) as "a chronic, painful, musculoskeletal disorder of unknown etiology."
That being said, I will provide links here to many good sites and will attempt a very brief summary of what each site contains. Please know that this page simply cannot be all inclusive of the information available on the world wide web. These are just a few of the sites that I have visited and found to be helpful.
The purpose of this site is to diseminate information that is accurate and beneficial in improving the quality of life for those suffering from fibromyalgia. "Irritable bowel, migraine headache, interstitial cystitis, and chronic fatigue are also emerging as specific disease entities with common links to fibromyalgia that can aid not only in diagnosis but also intreatment. We hope to utilize the World Wide Web not only to improve treatment, but also to facilitate better understanding of these diseases for both the patient and care practitioner."
This site offers criteria for diagnosing Fibromyalgia Syndrome listing symptoms and other conditions that commonly occur when fibromyalgia is present.
Acording to the American College of Rheumatology, fibromyalgia affects 3 to 6 million Americans. It primarily occurs in women age 20 to 50, but children, older adults, and men can also be affected. The cause of fibromyalgia is unknown and there is no proven cure. Often treatmetns focus on managing pain with a combination of exercise, medications, physical therapy and relaxation techniques.
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