Clinical characteristics of fibrositis

Abstract

Twenty-two patients with fibrositis, selected from a general medical outpatient population by a screening questionnaire and subsequent evaluation, were compared with age-, sex-, and clinic-matched patients without fibrositis. Although there was a high prevalence of musculoskeletal complaints in both groups, the fibrositis patients had a uniform constellation of symptoms, including axial pain, severe aching and stiffness, morning 'fatigue, and modulation by specific factors. They also had a higher incidence of tension headache and irritable bowel syndrome. The use of a dolorimeter demonstrated that fibrusitis patients had many more areas of localized tenderness than control patients, but also that fibrositis patiedts did not have diffusely diminished pain threshold and tolerance. Using the criteria of this study, fibrositis appears to be a common and readily definable syndrome within the spectrum of soft tissue rheumatism. __

Population study of tender point counts and pain as evidence of fibromyalgia

“…Our results suggest that features associated with the tender point count in the general population are similar to those described in patients with fibromyalgia attending hospital 14. Counts were higher in women and in subjects who reported pain, especially those with chronic widespread pain.…”

Evaluation of pain threshold using a simple pressure algometer

“…Measurement of pain threshold, defined as 'the first barely perceptible pain to appear in an instructed subject under given conditions of noxious stimulation' (1), has been considered an important variable, and elicited by a variety of mechanical (2,3), thermal (4,5,6), vascular (7), chemical (8), and electrical methods (for reviews see 9,10). Pain threshold studies have been performed in normal subjects (9,10,11), and in patients with osteoarthritis of the hip (12), rheumatoid arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis (13), and fibrositis (14,15). To our knowledge only one major study has been reported on the reliability of the pressure algometer as a measure of 'trigger-point' sensitivity in fibrositis (15).…”

Rheumatic disorders in adults under 50

“…other diagnoses should be entertained. 9 An anecdotally important aspect is that these patients usually want to get better and continue to work in spite of seemtngly excruciating discomfort. This point helps distinguish fibromyalgia patients from ( 1) persons in search of secondary gain and (2) persons with other chronic pain syndromes, such as psychogenic rheumatism, whose physical complaints help them cope with their environment.…”