A Visual Guide to Fibromyalgia

Fibromyalgia is a lifelong condition that affects about 5 million Americans. People with it have sore, stiff muscles, but nothing odd shows up on X-rays or most lab tests. Doctors diagnose it based on your symptoms and an exam. While fibromyalgia doesn’t damage joints or organs, the constant aches and fatigue can really impact daily life.

The hallmark of fibromyalgia is muscle pain throughout your body. Typically, you’ll also have:

• Fatigue
• Sleep problems
• Anxiety or depression
• Joint pain and numbness or tingling

One of the unique things about fibromyalgia is specific locations on the body that, when pressed, hurt. People without fibro would only feel pressure. This illustration shows 18 common tender points.

Because traditionally no lab tests or X-rays could confirm a diagnosis of fibromyalgia, people may have been led to believe this feeling was “all in their heads.” But the medical community now accepts that the pain of fibromyalgia is real. Research suggests it’s caused by a glitch in the way the body perceives pain.