The History of Fibromyalgia
Due to the recent surge in advocacy for fibromyalgia, many people assume that it is a relatively recent disease. In fact, it is quite the opposite. Fibromyalgia has a long history in medical journals and doctor’s notes.
There are descriptions of pain similar to that suffered by fibromyalgia patients as long ago as the 16th century. Throughout European literature, there are multiple accounts of musculoskeletal pain. However, it was not until the 18th century, with advancements in the medical field, that specific conditions began to be distinguished. Initially, there were fewer distinctions between different conditions (arthritis, fibromyalgia and other pains may have all been seen as the same). As these advancements continued, however, the definitions slimmed.
In the 19th century, multiple descriptions for different musculoskeletal pain began to emerge. In 1841, for example, Valleix (a paediatrician from France) began to write about specific trigger points causing pain. This was one of the first descriptions of trigger point pain, a phenomenon common in those with Fibromyalgia.
These developments were not only occurring in Europe. In the late 1800s, an american neurologist named Beard began to describe a condition with symptoms of muscle pain, trigger point pain, fatigue and memory loss. The symptoms were initially attributed to the daily stress of the patient. However, at the beginning of the 1900s, a British neurologist named Sir William Gowers began building on this research. He coined the term “fibrositis” - one that would continue to be used for the next 72 years in medical documents.
In William Gowers’ initial description of ‘fibrositis’, he noted spontaneous pain, sensitivity to touch, fatigue, insomnia, and muscle strain. He suggested a range of treatment plans (including, remarkably, cocaine injections). He quickly became the world’s leading physician on this condition. However, due to the inability to quickly diagnose the condition through tests, and the differences in each individual's symptoms, it was not a commonly recognised condition in the USA.
It was not until the Second World War that any further developments in the study of what would become fibromyalgia occurred. Many soldiers, both while at war and after returning, complained of fibrositis symptoms. The lack of clear degeneration of muscles, or inflammation of joints, led doctors to begin to label the condition “psychogenic rheumatism”. This condition was regularly seen to be analogous to fibrositis.
In 1972 a Canadian physician, Hugh Smyth, began to look at this data and describe fibromyalgia as we know it today. He described widespread pain, alongside tender, trigger points. His definition included the other symptoms many experience: emotional distress, stress, lack of sleep, fatigue and stiffness. From here, he devised a working set of diagnostic criteria. In 1976, a doctor (Dr P. K Hench) referred to this collective condition as fibromyalgia for the first time.
From this early breakthrough in the 1970s, scientific papers began to be written using the term. There were also multiple clinical studies conducted throughout the 1980s. Many of these compared specific symptoms in suspected fibromyalgia patients against the same symptoms in ‘healthy’ individuals. The results demonstrated that symptoms characteristic of fibromyalgia were significantly more severe and common in the suspected individuals. It was also discovered, through these clinical trials, that those suffering with fibromyalgia were more likely to suffer from irritable bowel syndrome and migraines.
Through the course of trials in the 1980s, doctors were finally able to clearly define and describe fibromyalgia, In 1990 the American College of Rheumatology published its first classification criteria for fibromyalgia. In 1992, physicians began to explore the neurological factors that could cause the condition, starting trials of the human brain to explore this thesis further. This research led doctors to understand fibromyalgia as a disease of the central nervous system, with this being the key linking factors between patients.
Despite these developments, there is still no clear cure for those with fibromyalgia. The history of the syndrome allows us to see that, although the term fibromyalgia is relatively recent, the symptoms have always existed. Although in some ways it remains medically unexplained, the quick surge in research in the 1970s should provide hope to fibro warriors. With similar funding and scientific research, a cure (or treatment) could be on the way.