Fibromyalgia Disability

Fibromyalgia disability is characterised by chronic fatigue and chronic pain syndrome. While fibromyalgia is not an arthritic condition it is related to rheumatoid arthritis in that sufferers from both conditions experience chronic pain and fatigue. There is considerable controversy surrounding the condition and parts of the medical profession will not diagnose a non-specific condition such as fibromyalgia disability ? and there are those who treat the condition as purely psychosomatic.

Although fibromyalgia is now recognised in both America and the UK as a debilitating illness, which can result in sufferers being unable to work, it is not always identified as such. Theoretically people who have this condition should be allowed benefits and disability payments on both sides of the Atlantic. However, because fibromyalgia has no single, identifiable organic cause sufferers may find it extremely difficult to obtain such benefits. While it is not regarded as a progressive illness and some sufferers appear to recover completely, still others may have the condition in varying degrees for years.

One almost universal aspect of this condition is that of chronic pain on both sides of the body, above and below the waist. In some patients consistent, chronic pain can lead to weakness in the muscles, to the extent where the patient has difficulty moving their legs and is unable to go up and down stairs. Diagnosis is difficult because there is no single, identifiable cause of the condition; some believe that to some degree it may be psychological in origin, while others tend more to the view that it is an hereditary auto immune condition.



Fibromyalgia disability sufferers are extremely sensitive to touch, which is a function of the chronic pain. When chronic pain persists for more than three months along with tenderness in up to eighteen identified tenderness sites doctors may make a diagnosis of fibromyalgia. The chronic fatigue that is associated with fibromyalgia is exacerbated by the fact that most sufferers do not experience normal sleeping patterns.

Although people who suffer from the condition may be seen to be resting for long periods they do not experience normal, restful sleep; this means that they can become even more tired. Treatment for the disability is generally a combination of medication, physiotherapy, hydrotherapy and counseling or cognitive behavioral therapy. Some studies suggest that hydrotherapy combined with gentle aerobics can be extremely beneficial for some sufferers of fibromyalgia disability.