What is fibromyalgia? is fibromyalgia a chronic illness and how prevalent is it?

It's complicated: We still don't know where the pathology is in fibromyalgia (fm). It may have a shared pathological mechanism with migraines, central sensitization = some event in the brain sensitizes peripheral nerves to experience neuropathic pain constantly & more intensely. It is a chronic illness, which does have diagnostic criteria and management techniques.

Fairly prevalent.: Fibromyalgia is the most common rheumatologic disorder in women under 40 and the second most common in all age groups to osteoarthritis. The current thought is that it is related to hyperexcitability of nerve endings leading to symptoms of generalized pain, fatigue, areas of trigger point tenderness and sleep disruption.