DEFINITION
FACTS
CAUSES
SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS
rTMS AND FIBROMYALGIA
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DEFINITION

“Fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) is a widespread musculoskeletal pain and fatigue disorder. Fibromyalgia means pain in the muscles, ligaments, and tendons—the soft fibrous tissues in the body. Most patients say that they ache all over. Their muscles may feel like they were pulled or overworked. Sometimes the muscles twitch and other times they burn.” (Fibromyalgia Network, 2007)

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FACTS

• Unlike other syndromes, fibromyalgia is not contagious; it cannot be transferred from one person to another
• Significantly more women than men suffer from the disorder
• Approximately 3% to 6% of the population suffers from fibromyalgia, typically ranging in age between 20 to 50 years.
• More women than men are afflicted with fibromyalgia (75% versus 25%) and it shows up in people of all ages.

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CAUSES

• Persons suffering from fibromyalgia may be genetically predisposed to the syndrome
• Signs of symptoms can be traced back to childhood for most sufferers
• May result from an event of physical trauma, major surgery or Lyme Disease
• May be linked to myofascial pain syndrome, irritable bowel syndrome, hypoglycemia and various genitourinary symptoms

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS

Primary Symptoms

• Individuals afflicted with fibromyalgia experience “flare-ups” and symptom variation from day to day
• Persons may experience extended periods of remission, followed by short or long-term flares
• Patients may suffer from a mild, idiopathic form of the disease or a more somatoform type resulting from depression
• Signs of fibromyalgia include
  
  
  • Increased sensitivity to touch
  • Overall pain and tenderness
  • Tingling and aching sensations
  • Muscle spasms, nerve pain and weak limbs
  • Sleep disruptions
  • Cognitive “fog” or overload

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rTMS AND FIBROMYALGIA

• rTMS has been shown to have a rapid therapeutic onset for treating various neural disorders with extremely mild or no side effects.
• rTMS is a safe, effective and rapid-acting treatment modality that works by sending a highly focused flow of electrons to cause neural healing in parts of the brain.
• The human brain is an electrical organ that functions through transmitting electrical signals from one nerve cell to another.
• Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation therapy (rTMS) when properly modulated and focused on areas of inadequate activity increases the number and frequency of transmissions, thereby restoring areas with damaged neural communication.
  
  “Non-invasive unilateral repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) of the motor cortex induces analgesic effects in focal chronic pain syndromes, probably bymodifying central pain modulatory systems. Neuroimaging studies have shown bilateral activation of a large number of structures, including some of those involved in pain processing, suggesting that such stimulation may induce generalized analgesic effects.” (Passard et. al, 2007)
• “All the various components of pain were relieved by rTMS: mostly the spontaneous pain, but also paroxysms and allodynia were concomitantly alleviated. Therefore, the use of rTMS alone is devoid of interest to manage patients with chronic pain in long term, but it could allow these patients to wait for surgical implantation with a good level of pain control, which could not be offered by analgesic drugs. Moreover, rTMS response could be a useful indicator of the success of the subsequent surgical procedure…In conclusion, motor cortex rTMS may be clinically useful in the management of chronic, drug-resistant pain to maintain a satisfactory level of pain relief in selected patients until the implantation of a cortical stimulator.” (Lefaucher et. al, 2004)
• 10-20 high frequency treatment sessions, over a period of 1-2 consecutive weeks.
• Treatments are administered to one of three areas over the Motor-Area which is associated with pain.
• Please contact MCC staff members directly to obtain further details.

Search journal articles on Fibromyalgia

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