According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an estimated 4 million adults in the United States live with fibromyalgia, representing approximately 2% of U.S. adults. While symptoms and experiences vary from person to person, fibromyalgia can significantly affect physical health, daily routines, and emotional well-being. Many individuals experience challenges with sleep, energy levels, memory, concentration, and chronic pain, making everyday activities difficult to manage. Despite its widespread impact, fibromyalgia remains a condition that is not fully understood. By increasing awareness and understanding, we can foster greater empathy and help connect individuals and communities with valuable resources and research opportunities.
What Is Fibromyalgia?
Fibromyalgia is a chronic condition that causes widespread pain and tenderness throughout the body. It can also lead to symptoms such as fatigue, sleep disturbances, and difficulties with memory and concentration. Researchers do not fully understand what causes fibromyalgia, but it’s believed to affect how the brain and nervous system process pain signals. While anyone can develop fibromyalgia, women are diagnosed more often than men. Although there is currently no cure, medications and other treatment approaches, many of which have been studied through clinical research, can help people manage their symptoms and improve their quality of life.
Common Symptoms
While everyone’s experience with fibromyalgia can vary, the main symptoms of fibromyalgia include:
- Widespread pain: Fibromyalgia pain is often described as a constant dull ache that has lasted for at least three months. The pain is considered widespread if it happens on both sides of the body and above and below the waist.
- Fatigue: People with fibromyalgia often wake up tired, even though they say they sleep for a long time. Often, the pain disrupts sleep. Many people with fibromyalgia have other sleep disorders, including restless legs syndrome and sleep apnea
- Thinking-related troubles: A symptom known as “fibro fog” makes it harder to pay attention and focus on mental tasks.
What Causes Fibromyalgia?
While medical professionals don’t know the exact cause of fibromyalgia, research suggests it involves the way the brain and spinal cord process pain signals. People with fibromyalgia appear to have an increased sensitivity to pain because the nervous system amplifies pain signals. According to the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, women are often diagnosed at much higher rates than men, and it can also occur at any age, but often begins in middle age, and the likelihood increases with age. The Mayo Clinic notes that the brain’s pain receptors seem to develop a sort of memory of the pain. They can start to overreact to painful and nonpainful signals.
Several factors may contribute to fibromyalgia, such as:
- Genetics. Fibromyalgia tends to run in families, suggesting certain genes may increase risk.
- Infections. Some illnesses appear to trigger fibromyalgia or make it worse.
- Physical or emotional trauma. Sometimes, fibromyalgia can be triggered by a physical event, such as an injury, car accident, or ongoing stress.
Symptoms often begin after a triggering event, but they can also develop gradually over time without a clear cause.
How Fibromyalgia Can Affect Daily Life
Because fibromyalgia can cause widespread pain and other symptoms, everyday activities may become more challenging. Symptoms can interfere with work, sleep, household responsibilities, and social activities, making it harder to maintain regular routines. Symptoms may also fluctuate over time, so some days may be harder than others. However, fibromyalgia affects everyone differently, and its impact on daily life can vary from person to person.
Fibromyalgia and Clinical Research
Through clinical research, scientists study investigational products and approaches while gathering information about their safety and effectiveness. The data gathered from trials help researchers determine which products warrant future study and contribute to a broader understanding of fibromyalgia. For people living with fibromyalgia, continued research expands scientific knowledge and may contribute to future advances in how fibromyalgia is understood and managed. At Excell Research, our fibromyalgia clinical trials give eligible participants an opportunity to contribute to research that may help advance future treatment options. To learn more or see if you’re eligible to participate, visit our participation page.