Pain in patients with fibromyalgia syndrome.
Chronic diffuse pain and hyperalgesia are two cardinal features of pain in fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS). Advancement in understanding the pathophysiology and treatment efficacy often depends on pain that is defined and measured. Pain is a subjective phenomenon that we can measure only by indirect methods. In this article, we provide methodological guidelines for pain assessment and review recent developments in understanding pain mechanisms and evaluating treatments in FMS. Finally, we demonstrate the heterogeneity of the FMS population and suggest the need for matching treatments to patient characteristics in order to improve clinical outcomes.
Turk
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Department of Anesthesiology, Box 356540, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
Okifuji
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D000928:Antidepressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002227:Carbazoles / Q000627:therapeutic use; D018849:Controlled Clinical Trials as Topic; D005260:Female; D005356:Fibromyalgia / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010146:Pain / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology; D059408:Pain Management; D010147:Pain Measurement; D026741:Physical Therapy Modalities / Q000379:methods*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011379:Prognosis; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D000928:Antidepressive Agents; D002227:Carbazoles; C009830:pirlindole