Fibromyalgia and CFS | Medical Thermography

FIBROMYALGIA and CFS and the role of Medical Thermography

Written by Janet van Dam, Medical Thermography Technician and Therapist.

Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome are two similar but distinctively different conditions and not easily diagnosed. However, Medical Thermography could be able to shed some light, helping to make the right diagnosis.

WHAT IS FIBROMYALGIA? Fibromyalgia is a chronic, painful muscle condition characterized by pain in the skeletal muscles, tendons (which attach muscles to bones), ligaments (which attach bones to bones) and bursa (sac-like structures which are filled with synovial fluid and provide lubrication and nutrition to joints).

SYMPTOMS Fibromyalgia is characterised by

  • Generalised muscle soreness and stiffness lasting more than three months.
  • Poor sleep with morning fatigue and stiffness.
  • Tenderness at 11 of 18 specific sites (11+ points are required for diagnosis).
  • Normal blood test results.

The more common painful areas are the low cervical spine, the shoulder, the second rib, the arm, the buttocks and the knee. These symptoms are often worsened by stress or a change in the weather. Depression, which may be due to a chemical imbalance in the brain or the development of chronic pain, is common with Fibromyalgia. Virtually all physical activity not only increases the patient’s pain complaints, but also makes the next few days miserable, producing intense muscle pain.

CAUSES Fibromyalgia may be caused by

  • Physical trauma, such as a motor vehicle accident, a sudden fall, or even the trauma of surgery with a general anesthetic.
  • After a viral illness like the flu.
  • In women due to hormonal changes after a hysterectomy or around the time of the beginning of menopause.
  • The sudden emotional trauma of the loss of a loved one.

ONE OF THE CONDITIONS ASSOCIATED WITH FIBROMYALGIA IS CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNDROME Chronic fatigue syndrome is a condition that causes marked, long-term fatigue and other symptoms which are not caused by any other known medical condition. This debilitating disorder, just like Fibromyalgia, is often misdiagnosed. In addition to chronic fatigue, just like Fibromyalgia, it produces muscle pain and weakness.

SYMPTOMS The onset of symptoms can be sudden or more gradual. The most common main symptom is overwhelming persistent fatigue (tiredness). The fatigue is of new onset. That is, it has not been life-long, but started at a point in time and causes you to limit your activities compared with what you were used to. It is often felt to be both physical and mental fatigue, to be ‘like no other type of fatigue’. The fatigue is often made worse by physical or mental exertion and is usually not felt until the day after. It then takes several days to improve. Other symptoms may include

  • Poor concentration and memory.
  • Sleeping difficulties.
  • Pains – most commonly muscular pains (myalgia), joint pains and headaches.
  • Recurring sore throat, often with tenderness of the nearby lymph glands.
  • And dizziness, nausea (feeling sick) and palpitations.

CAUSES CFS may be caused by:

  • Viral infection, after which the tiredness remains.
  • Inherited genetic susceptibility (it is more common in some families).
  • Exhaustion and mental stress.
  • Depression.
  • A traumatic event such as bereavement, divorce or redundancy.

Recurring viral or bacterial infections, not being active enough or even being too active, stress, poor diet, being socially isolated and/or feeling frustrated and depressed and environmental pollution have all been cited as having the potential to increase symptoms of CFS.

THE ROLE OF MEDICAL THERMOGRAPHY IN DIAGNOSIS

Fibromyalgia and CFS cannot be detected using x-rays or biopsies. Blood tests are often inconclusive, which means that the doctor has to go on the totality of symptoms a patient presents in order to make the conclusion. Fibromyalgia or CFS may present with different symptoms in different people, so you can understand that it is easy to mistake these conditions for another illness or to be missed altogether.

But maybe Medical Thermography can offer the patient some insight into his or her condition. With the use of infrared technology, measuring minute differences in body temperature, these conditions can now be mapped by making a few simple images.

Fibromayalgia and CFS Medical Thermography

These pictures are of patients with diagnosed Fibromyalgia and CFS and are a good example where Thermal Imaging can be a valuable tool in the process of obtaining a diagnosis.

The images of patients with a lot of upper body heat (yellow and orange) and a cool area (green) over cervical joints T1 and T2 just underneath the neck are good indications of Fibromyalgia. The image of the patient with a cooler upper body (yellow/green/blue) and a cold spot (blue) over the same cervical joints is definitely an indication of a CFS condition.

(Note: In cases of mild CFS however, there may not be an indication of the hypothermia over T1/T2).

You can see that the temperature pattern of this cold spot over the lower neck is consistent in all these patients and depending on the overall temperature of the upper body, it indicates either one or the other condition. This test is easy to do and safe. It’s radiation free and a non-invasive procedure.

Medical Thermography can also be used to monitor the progression of both conditions, especially after treatment to monitor potential progress and how the patient is improving.

When these specific areas of hypothermia (cold spots) over T1/T2 are absent in suspected Fibromyalgia or CFS, the patient should be having further investigations to find out what the problem is.

Where there is a condition of lethargy, tiredness, general overall pain and depression, subject to symptoms, there should be more attention on blood tests to check for anaemia, thyroid dysfunction, Diabetes and/or other systemic conditions.

Medical Thermography is not a stand-alone diagnostic test for Fibromyalgia and CFS, but it can be a very important tool for aiding in the correct diagnosis of these conditions.

For more information of DITI please visit the website www.well-therm.com

Well-Therm
Janet van Dam
Medical Thermographer

Sources

1 ) http://www.thermographyofmontana.com/other/3.php?t=Detecting+Fibromyalgia

2) Fibromyalgia & Chronic Myofascial Pain Syndrome: A Survival Manual, by Starlanyl, DJ and Copeland, ME. New Harbinger Publications: Oakland (CA), 1996.

3) http://www.patient.co.uk/health/Chronic-Fatigue-Syndrome-/-ME.htm

 

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