Chronic pain (fibromyalgia and hypermobility)

Question 1

How is fibromyalgia classifed?

Answer 1

• Widespread pain index (WPI): scores number of painful regions out of 19
• Symptom severity score: focuses of fatigue, unrefreshing sleep, and cognitive symptoms

Patient must score high enough on those, and have persistent symptoms for at least 3 months that can’t be explained

Question 2

What is the pathophysiology of fibromyalgia?

Answer 2

Unknown
But related to hormones (7x more women), pain amplification, and sleeping abnormalities

Question 3

What is the Beighton score?

Answer 3

For screening of joint hypermobility
- Scored out of 5
- Similar to the 5PQ score

Question 4

What is postural tachycardia syndrome (PoTS)?

Answer 4

When your heart rate increases very quickly after getting up from sitting or lying down
- Causes risk of fainting/falls

Question 5

What are some different hypermobility conditions?

Answer 5

• Ehlers-Danlos syndrome
• Pseudoxanthoma elasticum: progressive accumulation of minerals in elastin
• Marfan
• Osteogenesis imperfecta
• Stickler syndrome: affects formation of collagen