Researchers: Fibromyalgia Pain May Be Linked To Spinal Cord Dysfunction

by Julia Nelson

According to a study titled “Lengthened Cutaneous Silent Period in Fibromyalgia Suggesting Central Sensitization as a Pathogenesis” and published in the journal PLOS One, dysfunction in spinal cord processing may be responsible for pain in fibromyalgia (FM) patients.

Among other side effects, Fibromyalgia is portrayed by chronic widespread pain, but the root cause that is responsible for chronic pain in FM is still vague. A recent study has shown that for fibromyalgia pathogenesis, central pain amplification is key, FM pathogenesis is also known as “central sensitization” is a process that is characterized by augmented pain and sensory processing in the spinal cord and brain.

The cutaneous silent period (CSP), a spinal reflex interceded by A-delta cutaneous afferents that are used to evaluate pain processing in both the central and peripheral nervous systems, between FM patients and normal healthy controls were compared by the researchers. The number of people that were analyzed was 24 fibromyalgia patients (diagnosed according to the 1990 American College of Rheumatology classification system) and 24 healthy controls of same age and sex. CSP was checked from the abductor pollicis Brevis muscle which is present in the hand between the wrist and the base of the thumb by using standard electro-diagnostic equipment, along with patients’ parameters in which statistic information, number of tender points, visual analog scale and fibromyalgia affects surveys scores were included.

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These findings suggest that in the central nervous system, fibromyalgia is linked with pain modulation mechanisms dysfunctioning. Also, according to researchers study, there was no correlation between CSP and clinical parameters like VAS score, K-FIQ score, age, and height, which postures questions in the matter of whether to utilize CSP to survey ailment seriousness. As a matter of fact, researchers emphasize that extra reviews are required to additionally assess the relationship between CSP parameters and clinical information.

The authors write in their report, “In conclusion, dysfunction of supraspinal control may be responsible for pain in FM, giving additional proof that central sensitization underlies the pathogenesis of the disease,”

Source: https://fibromyalgianewstoday.com