Fibromyalgia and Gut Health

Fibromyalgia is a syndrome that is characterized by widespread pain, tenderness, sleep disturbances, fatigue and commonly problems of memory or thinking. Currently there are no lab tests available for fibromyalgia. Diagnosis is made by finding 11 of 18 tender points in the absence of any other disease to explain the pain. The prevalence of fibromyalgia is estimated at 2%-4% worldwide with women being more affected than men (9:1 ratio).

Many theories of what causes fibromyalgia have been explored, but neither the etiology nor pathophysiologic mechanisms are known. Some theories include genetic/familial factors, sleep disturbance, neuroendocrine dysfunction, abnormal pain processing and decreased pain inhibition. Likely it is a combination of several of these categories.