What is Fibromyalgia?
- Fibromyalgia (FM) is a chronic pain condition and a significant cause of disability.
- FM is pain everywhere accompanied by fatigue, unrefreshing sleep, problems thinking clearly, and sometimes mood and anxiety symptoms.
- The pain is mostly a tiring, aching sensation in large muscles that worsens with repetitive use.Â
- Although the pain is felt in the body, brain imaging studies show that fibromyalgia symptoms are generated by the brain through neuroplasticity—the brain’s ever-changing structure and function.
- Small fiber neuropathy is found in approximately 49% of cases, suggesting that structural nerve damage may play a role.
- The connection between these two seemingly unrelated findings is a topic of discussion in the field.
- Understanding the connection is important to develop effective treatments for people with FM.
Download the 2016 Fibromyalgia Criteria
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Live! with Dr. Stein
Evidence-based presentations and Q&A with Dr. Stein. Credible, science-based, and cutting edge information about how to live longer and healthier.Â
Self-Study Course
Pathways to Improvement
Learn to take charge of your health to help you feel and live better with fibromyalgia. Self-management works!
More DetailsSelf-Study Course
Rewiring Your Brain for Better Health
Learn how to transform your mental health using the power of neuroplasticity in this affordable beginner’s course.
More DetailsSelf-Study Course
Pathway 3: Sleep
Better sleep means less pain and more comfort. Wake more refreshed and have more energy to enjoy life by learning proven self-management strategies for more effective sleep.Â
More DetailsWebinars (recordings)
Know Pain
Debbie Patterson, a registered physiotherapist and teacher, explains key concepts of pain science, emphasizing neuroplasticity and providing guidance on how to rewire your brain to produce less pain.
More DetailsDeep Pacing
Dr. Stein explains DEEP pacing—providing strategies for attending holistically to the mind and body, to stabilize your energy, make your life and health more predictable, and give you more control.Â
More DetailsSleep Testing and Treatment in Complex Chronic Diseases
Dr. Charles Samuels, sleep doctor and director of Centre for Sleep and Human Performance, explains the types of sleep studies available, what can be learned from them, typical sleep study findings in people with ME, FM and long COVID and the pros and cons of sleep medications.
More DetailsBooks
Let Your Light Shine Through, Second Edition
In this manual, Dr. Stein shares the strategies she has found to be the most successful for patients in her 35-year medical practice working with ME, CFS, FM, ES, chronic pain and long COVID. Readers are guided through a 286-page, 4-month program specific to these conditions. Let Your Light Shine Through is filled with practical, no-to-low-cost management suggestions, tools and resources.Â
The second edition has updated disease definitions, research updates, online resources, peer-reviewed references, and a bonus chapter, New and Future Directions, with new strategies to leverage the body's innate ability to heal.
Formats available: downloadable PDF, Amazon Kindle, Amazon paperback, Kobo eBook, and paperback from your local bookstore.Â
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More Light
Building upon Let Your Let Shine Through, More Light contains up-to-date, science-based information, clinical approaches, and affordable interventions that you can do on your own. Currently, only individual chapters are available at affordable prices. Choose the subjects tailored specifically to your health needs. Current topics are Self-management, Diagnosis, Biology of Change, Sleep, and Energy and Activity.
More DetailsThe Dr. Eleanor Stein Podcast
Episode 19: Why You Can't Sleep And The Surprising Way To Fix It with guest Dr. Daniel Erichsen
These are the most current Podcasts on the topic of fibromyalgia.
For all Podcasts, click here.
Recommended Free VideosÂ
Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation for Treating ME/CFS and Fibromyalgia
In this presentation, learn about repeated transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) and its applications in complex chronic diseases.
We discuss what rTMS is in plain language, how effective rTMS is in depression and fibromyalgia, and the not yet published study results of rTMS in ME/CFS.
Q&A
With Two Fibromyalgia Experts
Presented by Dr. Eleanor Stein and Dr. Yoni Whitten
Recording of a live webinar, Feb 29, 2024.
In this webinar, Drs. Stein and Whitten responded to questions from the online audience. Some of the primary topics include brain fog, vitamins and supplements, nociplastic pain, pacing, and how long it will take to recover.
How to Use Neuroplasticity
to Heal Chronic Pain
Dr. Stein shares some of the keys to using neuroplasticity to decrease chronic pain and other associated symptoms. Fibromyalgia patients could benefit from learning how to use neuroplasticity to help with their pain. The recording includes over 30 minutes of Q&A with some great questions asked.
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Blog Posts
6 Ways to Protect Yourself From Medical Gaslighting
Could Virtual Reality Benefit People With Fibromyalgia?
What is Neuroplasticity and How Does It Work?
The Lowdown on Magnesium for Chronic Pain, ME/CFS and More
These are the most current Blogs on the topic of fibromyalgia.
For all Blogs, click here.
Articles and Peer-Reviewed Publications
Concerns with FM Guidelines: Letter to the editor of the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ)
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