Chattanooga, TN Schedule Now. New Patient Forms. Chronic pain is one of the most pressing issues facing the medical system today. Two of the most common causes of chronic pain include multiple sclerosis, usually shortened to MS, and fibromyalgia.
Even though discomfort is a common theme in both conditions, they are very different. What are the differences between fibromyalgia and multiple sclerosis?
What are the treatment options available? Fibromyalgia is a chronic condition that impacts the functioning of the musculoskeletal system. Even though it does cause chronic pain, fibromyalgia can also lead to memory problems, mood issues, fatigue, and drowsiness. Even though medical researchers do not yet understand the exact cause of fibromyalgia, it can present differently in different people. It is also not unusual for people with fibromyalgia to develop depression.
It is not life-threatening. Frequently described as a deep ache, the pain may move around, persist for long periods, and disappear. More than nine in 10 fibromyalgia patients experience unrelenting exhaustion. About 1 million Americans are thought to have multiple sclerosis. Unlike fibro, MS is considered an autoimmune disease in which the immune system is attacking part of the central nervous system. Specifically, MS affects the protective sheath myelin that covers nerve fibers throughout your body, which can cause a wide range of symptoms depending on which nerves are affected.
Over time, multiple sclerosis can permanently damage your brain and spinal cord. Women, Caucasians, people between the ages of 20 and 50, and those who live farther from the Equator have a higher risk of developing MS. There are four main kinds of MS; symptoms and disease progression depend on what type you have. While many people with MS develop relatively mild issues especially with newer treatments that can help prevent MS flares and disease progression , those with severe illness can lose mobility and speech and experience other complications.
MS symptoms vary among patients, depending on which parts of the nervous system are affected. The most common type of MS — called relapsing-remitting MS, which is what 85 percent of patients are first diagnosed with — is characterized by attacks, or flares, of new symptoms followed by periods of remission.
Among the more common symptoms of MS are:. Numbness and tingling in the limbs often occur with MS, as do muscle spasms. Frequently, someone with MS will feel an electric impulse sensation when they move their neck a particular way; this is called the Lhermitte sign. Dizziness and weakness can contribute to balance and coordination troubles.
People with MS often complain of feeling suddenly clumsy or report tripping, stumbling, or falling more than usual. When MS affects the optic nerve in your eye, it can cause eye problems such as blurry eyesight, double vision, and vision loss, and may involve eye pain and unexpected movement of the eye.
Though they have few other similarities, MS and fibromyalgia do have some comparable symptoms. These include:. People with MS may experience eye pain or pain elsewhere in the body. It can be acute or mild, and may be related to neurological issues or musculoskeletal problems. Occasionally, some MS patients do not develop pain.
For fibro patients, pain is a defining aspect of the disease. Without its presence, you cannot get a fibromyalgia diagnosis. Constant weariness is widespread in both MS and fibro. The vast majority of people with either condition often feel physically exhausted, and may find it interrupts their lives at home, school and work. About half of MS patients report brain fog-like symptoms as well. When considering your symptoms, it is important to keep in mind that people with multiple sclerosis may experience a wide variety of other issues not common to people with fibromyalgia, such as mobility problems and speech troubles.
If you suspect you might have either fibromyalgia or MS, says Dr. Both fibromyalgia and multiple sclerosis can be difficult to diagnose. Read more about diseases that can mimic fibromyalgia. When diagnosing fibromyalgia vs MS, providers must eliminate the possibility of those other illnesses, which include rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, spondyloarthritis, thyroid disorders, and others.
At the same time, they can look for three diagnostic criteria:. Read more here about how fibromyalgia is diagnosed. International Journal of Psychiatry in Clinical Practice. Your Privacy Rights. To change or withdraw your consent choices for VerywellHealth.
At any time, you can update your settings through the "EU Privacy" link at the bottom of any page. These choices will be signaled globally to our partners and will not affect browsing data.
We and our partners process data to: Actively scan device characteristics for identification. I Accept Show Purposes. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Sign Up. What are your concerns?
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. National Fibromyalgia Association. FM Fact Sheet. Tommaso, M. Fibromyalgia comorbidity in primary headaches. Tullman, M. Overview of the epidemiology, diagnosis, and disease progression associated with multiple sclerosis.
Wolfe F et al. The American College of Rheumatology preliminary diagnostic criteria for fibromyalgia and measurement of symptom severity. Arthritis Care Res ;
0コメント