Chronic Pain Today

This chronic disorder is categorized by musculoskeletal pain and pain in the soft fibrous tissues. Approximately 3-6 million people are affected; mostly women of childbearing years. It is the disease that up until recently doctors believed was “all in a woman’s head”.

Symptoms will include pain, fatigue, sleep disorders, irritable bowel syndrome, headaches, gastric upset, and temperature sensitivity. The symptoms can lead to TMJ (temporomandibular joint dysfunction syndrome). Aggravates to most patients symptoms are found in weather, allergies and stress.

Treatments are mainly to manage the symptoms of the disease and not to cure the disease itself. There are sleep disorder therapies and medications, muscle relaxers, acupuncture and acupressure, massage and other joint relief options. Studies have shown that fibromyalgia is similar in quality of life to that of patients with rheumatoid arthritis. More clinical studies are trying to find the link on development of the disease and include studies on genetics, nutritional deficiencies, and connective tissue disease.

A survey in March 1998 by Tom Ferguson M.D. at Boston’s Center for Clinical Computing and William Kelly at the Sapient Health Network showed that online health communities are significantly more helpful than even specialists in 9 of 12 healthcare aspects. The nine areas that were found to be superior were the convenience, cost effectiveness, emotional support, compassion, source of medical references, source of information, source of coping tips, death issues, and most likely to be there for the long haul. They also rated a bit higher in the area of technical medical information. Online health communities therefore seem to be a very good bet for anyone with a chronic illness. It is also a means of finding a place to go where you are both understood and appreciated. Many find that it gives them a new purpose in life; a sense of accomplishment when they help comfort someone new to their illness.

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