What are Fibromyalgia Trigger Points?
Fibromyalgia trigger points are a set of eighteen pre-determined sites on the body used to diagnose the condition. Doctors consider a patient to have fibromyalgia if eleven of the eighteen points are tender when pressed. Trigger points are extremely sore areas that are found in ropy bands throughout the body or as hard lumps of fascia. They are easily felt along the arms and legs.
To feel a trigger point, stretch a muscle about 2/3 of the way out and you might feel the lumpy areas. The muscles may be so tight that you can't feel any lumps but instead they feel hard or 'like concrete'. Fibromyalgia trigger points are found in the myofascia, skin, ligaments, bone lining, and other tissues in the body. Sometimes they are caused by surgery and are quite common.
Fibromyalgia trigger points can do several things in the body. They can trap nerves, blood, and lymph vessels and the results may be a source of confusion to patients and doctors, leading to frequent misdiagnosis. Trigger points also impair your muscle strength and in cases where one part of the body is supported by another the compressed part may become numb.
Fibromyalgia trigger points cause a variety of other symptoms such as: stiffness, muscle tightness and weakness, localized sweating, eye tearing, copious salivation, poor balance, dizziness, nausea, tinnitus, goose bumps, runny nose, buckling knees, weak ankles, illegible handwriting, staggering gait, headaches and muscle cramps.
The pain of FMS is caused by fibromyalgia trigger points and might have been caused by surgical incision, overuse, repetitive motion, bruises, strains and joint problems. If you have a trigger point in the neck it can cause dizziness, ringing of the ears, loss of balance. These referred symptoms have been well studied and documented so doctors can often treat pain symptoms in areas of the body by treating the appropriate trigger point.
If fibromyalgia trigger points are treated immediately and any aggravating factors addressed they can be repaired. However this does not usually happen in practice. Trigger points are often neglected and strained leading to secondary trigger points and the pain of fibromyalgia. Talk to your doctor about what measures can be taken to help deal with the trigger points in your body. He or she may be able to recommend treatment that can eliminate your painful condition.
