 |
Widespread pain, the type that is associated with fibromyalgia, doesn't discriminate. It affects artists and combat vets alike. Frida Khalo, the famous Mexican artist from the 1930s, suffered a near fatal bus accident that broke her pelvis and spine. The accident caused her to experience chronic widespread pain for the rest of her life. Doctors from the American College of Rheumatology now suggest that she may have had fibromyalgia. In those days, though, fibromyalgia was most likely unknown, with no way to diagnose it.
Researchers now have some data on veterans of the first Gulf War. Many returning from combat complain of chronic musculoskeletal pain, Symptoms of chronic musculoskeletal pain are very similar to those of fibromyalgia. Researchers from a new study published in the August 2010 issue of Pain found Gulf Var vets with chronic musculoskeletal pain had similar pain perception abnormalities as fibromyalgia patients. (As a chronic pain condition, fibromyalgia may start when the nervous system distorts the nocioceptive pain that accompanies injuries or other physical issues.) The study found that during/after exercise these vets had a higher sensitivity to heat and pain than vets without chronic musculoskeletal pain.
| Frida Khalo - Art and Pain | Back Pain | What's the Difference Between Fibro and Myofascial Pain? |
Source:
Dane B. Cook,*,y Aaron J. Stegner,y and Laura D. Ellingsony. Exercise Alters Pain Sensitivity in Gulf War Veterans With Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain. The Journal of Pain, Vol 11, No 8 (August), 2010: pp 764-772. Accessed September 2010.
=======================
OR
