Fibromyalgia. 2. Management guidelines and research findings

Treatment of fibromyalgia includes various forms of therapy--physical, behavioral, psychological, and pharmacologic. No drug therapy has proved uniformly successful, but some drugs provide temporary relief from pain. After an initial therapy program has been established, patients can assume the major responsibility for management. Research studies aimed at defining the cause of fibromyalgia have linked it to sleep disorders, neurogenic mediators, immune mechanisms, muscle disease, and psychological disturbances.