An Osteopathic Approach to the Patient with Chronic Pain/ Fibromyalgia

Question 1

how do you make the diagnosis of fibromyalgia?

Answer 1

Must meet the three conditions below:
1. Widespread pain index (WPI) > or equal to 7 (number of painful regions from list of 19)
AND symptom severity (SS) scale (amount of unrefreshing sleep, fatigue, cognitive symptoms) greater than or equal to 5

OR WPI 3-6 and SS scale greater than or equal to 9
AND symptoms present at least 3 months
AND No other cause which explains pain

Question 2

what might a sleep disorder in FM patients be reflective of?

Answer 2

CNS dysfunction

Question 3

what is the main PE findings in FM patients?

Answer 3

soft tissue tenderness with palpation

Question 4

what supplement might be beneficial to give to FM patients?

Answer 4

vitamin D