Early Symptoms Of Fibromyalgia Everyone Should Be Aware Of

Tender Points

Fibromyalgia patients experience widespread pain, but they also experience tenderness at specific points along the body or near the joints. Fibromyalgia sufferers feel pain when these tender points are pressed on or touched. Researchers have identified eighteen tender points, and the American College of Rheumatology suggests that in diagnosing fibromyalgia, an individual must test positive for at least eleven of the eighteen tender points. Some tender point areas include the back of the neck, the forearms near the elbow crease, in front of the neck on each side of the larynx, the hips, the lower back, the back of the knees, the upper back, between the shoulders and neck, and the chest.

Temperature Sensitivity

Temperature sensitivity is the inability to adapt to changes in temperature while having a lower threshold for both hot and cold stimuli, which can create pain for the patient. In our bodies, we have an entirely different set of nerves that sense temperature changes. These nerves are on our blood vessels, which can help explain this symptom, as individuals with this disease are known to have blood flow abnormalities and temperature sensitivity. Researchers have discovered that patients with this chronic condition have extra temperature sensing nerves along with different skin blood vessels called AV shunts, which are in the hands, feet, and face. These vessels are responsible for adjusting blood flow in response to temperature changes, which might help explain why fibromyalgia patients experience pain when it comes to temperature changes.