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Where are the 18 areas they check for Fibromyalgia?
I have been dx'ed by my neurologist as having BCFS back in August, however I still keep having other symptoms that my neurologist never has been able to explain as being part of BCFS, such as joint pain, especially in the hands, swelling of my hands, and chronic fatigue. Are those typical Fibro/CFS symptoms?
My main daily pain areas are usually in my upper neck/base of the skull, my lower back right below the belt area, and the middle upper part of my back along my spine and shoulder blade tissue areas. I've been trying to research about Fibromyalgia and I keep reading that you must have 11 out of 18 tender points to be dx'ed as having Fibromyalgia (http://healthresearchtoday.com/fibromyalgia/book_103.htm), but the specific areas are never mapped out. Does anyone know where the 18 points are on the body that they check you for?
Mark
My main daily pain areas are usually in my upper neck/base of the skull, my lower back right below the belt area, and the middle upper part of my back along my spine and shoulder blade tissue areas. I've been trying to research about Fibromyalgia and I keep reading that you must have 11 out of 18 tender points to be dx'ed as having Fibromyalgia (http://healthresearchtoday.com/fibromyalgia/book_103.htm), but the specific areas are never mapped out. Does anyone know where the 18 points are on the body that they check you for?
Mark
I've had the tenderpoints since 2005 as far as I know. But I probably had them a long ways back when I first got sick in the 90's. I remember having sore spots all over that would actually cause me to scream when they were touched. They were not in the typical spots though. These went away and the "new" ones came in 2005.
He pressed fairly hard on the tenderpoints. I forget but I think I read to apply ?5 lbs of pressure but I'm not sure. Maybe someone else recalls this. The pain is deep like jason80 describes, not at the surface.
As far as the nausea, it's not a big problem for me now but it has been in the past. There were times when I thoughout I would vomit for days on end.
My biggest symptoms used to be neurological but now the main ones are pain, stiffness, insomnia, fatigue.
He pressed fairly hard on the tenderpoints. I forget but I think I read to apply ?5 lbs of pressure but I'm not sure. Maybe someone else recalls this. The pain is deep like jason80 describes, not at the surface.
As far as the nausea, it's not a big problem for me now but it has been in the past. There were times when I thoughout I would vomit for days on end.
My biggest symptoms used to be neurological but now the main ones are pain, stiffness, insomnia, fatigue.
Jason- My pain is at the deep tissue area when pressure is applied to it, not at the surface level like you would experience a sunburn pain. My pain is similiar to muscular pain that you would experience if you were to workout too hard with weights and then be sore the next day. Hope these analogies help you understand it a little better.
Mark
Mark
How long have you had these tenderpoints? How much force did your doctor have to apply to them during the testing? I'm just curious and trying to compare them to mine... Also, do you experience being nauseous very much. I'm surprised how nauseous I have been lately, it's like the more pain I'm under the more common it is; and I usually *never* got nauseous before all of this started happening to me.
Mark
Mark
Some places like the ones by my hip area, neck, shoulder blades hurt all the time. Other areas I didn't even know hurt until he pressed on them. I have found the tender points always hurt when pressed even when I don't have pain (which is rare). I think I had 14 of the tenderpoints.
My wife who is a nurse had to break out her anatomy book to find out/remember where some of these points were, and I had pain in most of the locations when she applied pressure on them. I think somewhere between 14 - 16 of those points hurt!
Mark
Mark
Can someone comment on what the pain should feel like when palpated? and where it is, is it deeper can it be topical?
I'm afraid I have to agree with patsy10, because of my experience years ago with my GP. I don't think the GP believes that CFS/FMS are real, so I never could get her to make the referral to see the right kind of doctor. I doubt seriously that she really knows where the trigger points really are. She didn't even sound very knowledgeable about the trigger points herself. This was years ago and my symptoms have certainly gotten worse since then.
Did you feel this pain in 11 of the 18 spots all at the same time or was it only when they palpated these spots that you felt them all individually during the same office visit?
I also get pains in all of these areas with the lower lumbar being the worse. The other pains seem to radiate threw my body. Ex. My back (upper shoulder area), hips, chest, knees, elbows, hands, wrist, neck, head, ankles, feet, etc.????
Mark 1968, I hope you can get some relief. I live in Pa. and right now the pains have been horrible. Best of wishes.
I also get pains in all of these areas with the lower lumbar being the worse. The other pains seem to radiate threw my body. Ex. My back (upper shoulder area), hips, chest, knees, elbows, hands, wrist, neck, head, ankles, feet, etc.????
Mark 1968, I hope you can get some relief. I live in Pa. and right now the pains have been horrible. Best of wishes.
Even by reading the areas and looking at charts of where they are it's still hard to find them. I pressed myself all over where it looked like the chart showed and felt nothing. But when I went to a doctor who specializes in this he knew exactly where they were and I was wincing and jumping etc...This is why I think people should seek a physician who specializes in this for a proper diagnosis.
(1 & 2) Occiput: on both sides (bilateral), at the sub-occipital muscle insertions.
(3 & 4) Low Cervical: bilateral, at the anterior aspects of the inter-transverse spaces.
(5 & 6) Lateral Epicondyle: bilateral, 2 cm distal to the epicondyles
(7 & 8) Knee: bilateral, at the medial fat pad proximal to the joint line.
(9 & 10) Second Rib: bilateral, at the second costochondral junction, just lateral to the junctions on upper surfaces.
(11 & 12) Trapezius: bilateral, at the midpoint of the upper border of the muscle.
(13 & 14) Supraspinatus: bilateral, at origins, above the spine of the scapula (shoulder blade) near the medial border
(15 & 16) Gluteal: bilateral, in upper outer quadrants of buttocks in anterior fold of muscle.
(17 & 18) Greater Trochanter: bilateral, posterior to the trochanteric prominence.
I would say that the other symtpoms you describe could be associated with FMS/CFS.
Hope this helps.
(3 & 4) Low Cervical: bilateral, at the anterior aspects of the inter-transverse spaces.
(5 & 6) Lateral Epicondyle: bilateral, 2 cm distal to the epicondyles
(7 & 8) Knee: bilateral, at the medial fat pad proximal to the joint line.
(9 & 10) Second Rib: bilateral, at the second costochondral junction, just lateral to the junctions on upper surfaces.
(11 & 12) Trapezius: bilateral, at the midpoint of the upper border of the muscle.
(13 & 14) Supraspinatus: bilateral, at origins, above the spine of the scapula (shoulder blade) near the medial border
(15 & 16) Gluteal: bilateral, in upper outer quadrants of buttocks in anterior fold of muscle.
(17 & 18) Greater Trochanter: bilateral, posterior to the trochanteric prominence.
I would say that the other symtpoms you describe could be associated with FMS/CFS.
Hope this helps.
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