Fibromyalgia Trigger Points Test
Fibromyalgia trigger points in the past people were diagnosed with fibromyalgia if they had widespread pain and tenderness in at least 11 out of 18 specific trigger points around their body.
Fibromyalgia trigger points test. The tender point should cause pain in that exact area when the doctor presses on it with enough force to turn their fingernail white. They are located both above and below the waist around the neck chest shoulders hips and knees. This test was formulated based on the concept that when a doctor presses various pre determined areas of the body with a finger people with fibromyalgia will report pain or tenderness in at least 11 points. Ibs sometimes coincides with fibromyalgia.
But fibromyalgia symptoms can come and go so a person might have 11 tender spots one day but only eight tender spots on another day. And many family doctors were uncertain about how much pressure to apply during a tender point exam. When a doctor tests tender points for pain she will also check other non tender places on your body called control points to make sure you don t react to. When a doctor tests for fibromyalgia they check the tender points using a special instrument called a dolorimeter which exerts the right amount of pressure for testing pain threshold and tolerance.
They re located on both sides of the body both above and below the waist. The 18 tender points associated with fibromyalgia occur in symmetrical pairs from the back of your head to your inner knees. In the past at least 11 of these 18 spots had to test positive for tenderness to diagnose fibromyalgia. The primary difference between tender points and trigger points is that trigger points can produce referred pain that is they can cause pain in other parts of the body.
Usually they also check control points. This test has largely been superseded by more accurate diagnostic methods and tests including fibromyalgia blood tests. Fibromyalgia tender points tend to be symmetrical in the body. Fibromyalgia a chronic pain disorder is often characterized by pain in multiple tender points.
Where are fibromyalgia tender points.