Health

What is the Difference Between Fibromyalgia and Arachnoiditis?

Chronic pain syndromes are rare conditions but an important aspect surrounding these issues is determining the origin of the pain so that the symptoms and cause of the conditions can be managed effectively enough. Chronic pain affects people’s normal daily activities, and work duties, and can have a profound negative impact on one’s emotional status.

Two important causes of chronic pain are fibromyalgia and arachnoiditis. They are two distinctly different conditions as their mechanisms of onset and causes differ although the symptoms experienced by patients mimic each other, especially the chronic pain they cause.

What is the Difference Between Fibromyalgia and Arachnoiditis?

Fibromyalgia

Fibromyalgia is a condition that results in chronic pain in the muscles and joints of the body. It is characterized by symmetrical involvement of anatomical areas that involve both sides and above and below the body’s midline.

What is the Difference Between Fibromyalgia and Arachnoiditis?

Symptoms and signs of fibromyalgia include:

· Chronic fatigue

· The mentioned chronic pain in the muscles or muscle groups and joints.

· Muscle and/or joint stiffness.

· Difficulty with concentrating.

· Migraine headaches.

· Depressed mood as an effect of chronic pain.

There is no cure for fibromyalgia so the management of the condition focuses on controlling the symptoms experienced by the affected individual. This can be achieved through pain medications, intramuscular or trigger point injections, and even regenerative medicine in stem cell therapy. The latter works by stem cells either converting into muscle cells to take the place of damaged cells due to inflammation or by stimulating the release of anti-inflammatory factors in the bloodstream to reduce inflammation associated with the condition.

Arachnoiditis

Arachnoiditis is less common than fibromyalgia and is a condition associated with inflammation of the arachnoid membrane, which is one of the tissues that cover the brain, spinal cord, and nerves of the central nervous system. This condition can become extremely debilitating to affected patients even causing severe disability, especially when the inflammation around the affected area of the membrane results in scar tissue forming which leads to adhesions developing causing the nerves to stick together (adhesive arachnoiditis). This can further become complicated when the adhesions become hard and calcify causing a condition known as arachnoiditis ossificans.

What is the Difference Between Fibromyalgia and Arachnoiditis?

Symptoms and signs of arachnoiditis include:

· Stinging or burning nerve pain in the areas below the level of the pathology in the spine.

· A tingling or numb sensation involving the legs.

· Muscle cramps.

· Autonomic nerve dysfunction which can lead to bladder and/or bowel incontinence and sexual dysfunction.

Arachnoiditis can be caused by trauma to or infections of the arachnoid membrane, but one of the most associated situations includes inflammation caused by accidentally injecting steroid medications or local anesthetic agents into the space between the arachnoid membrane and dura mater when performing epidural injections.

Just like fibromyalgia, there is no cure for arachnoiditis but the symptoms caused by the condition can be managed with pain medications, nerve-blocking injections as one would want to avoid any further administration of epidural injections, and physical therapy.

Psychotherapy may be important for these patients as the pain can cause severe emotional disturbances which can lead to severe depression. The therapy will help patients to try feedback therapy where they learn to try and control the pain, but will also aid in keeping their emotions in check. Relaxation techniques and therapies will also help to try and reduce as much anxiety and stress as possible as these can feed pain and cause it to worsen.

Soma is a pill called a muscle relaxant. The main effect of these pills is to block nerve impulses that are sent to the brain. More information at https://thefitnessequation.com/tfestore/soma-carisoprodol/. Therefore, these tablets are used primarily to treat muscle damage or wounds.

Platelet-rich plasma therapy (PRP), where the patient’s own blood is drawn, centrifuged, and the platelet-rich plasma is extracted and prepared, has been administered to patients in a study that looked at the possibility of this therapy as an alternative to epidural steroid administration in the management pain in patients with herniated intervertebral discs. The use of the PRP therapy is being considered for managing arachnoiditis but further research needs to be conducted on this possibility.

References
1. Idris Z, Ghazali FH, Abdullah JM. Fibromyalgia and arachnoiditis presented as an acute spinal disorder. Surgical Neurology International. 2014;5:151. doi:10.4103/2152-7806.143364.
2. Morisako H, Takami T, Yamagata T, Chokyu I, Tsuyuguchi N, Ohata K. Focal adhesive arachnoiditis of the spinal cord: Imaging diagnosis and surgical resolution. Journal of Craniovertebral Junction and Spine. 2010;1(2):100-106. doi:10.4103/0974-8237.77673.
3. Bhatia R, Chopra G. Efficacy of Platelet Rich Plasma via Lumbar Epidural Route in Chronic Prolapsed Intervertebral Disc Patients-A Pilot Study. Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research : JCDR. 2016;10(9):UC05-UC07. doi:10.7860/JCDR/2016/21863.8482.

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What is the Difference Between Fibromyalgia and Arachnoiditis?

Jess Benoit

Jess is a homeschooling mama of 3, wife, gamer, Whovian, Nerd

16 thoughts on “What is the Difference Between Fibromyalgia and Arachnoiditis?

  • Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us. My brother was diagnosed with fibromyalgia and it hit him really hard knowing that there is no cure for it. I hope to see more posts like this thank you so much.

    Reply
  • Joy Allen

    This was very useful. I was diagnosed with fibromyalga also. But after reading this article, it seems more like it could be the other one.

    Reply
  • Wow. Thanks for posting this. I have Fibro and Lupus…or at least have been diagnosed with both, but after reading this article I’m definitely going to be doing a lot more looking into the Arachnoiditis. My symptoms seem much more likely to be this than Fibro actually.

    Reply
  • Joy Allen

    Thanks very much for sharing this info. I was diagnosed with fibomyalgia in 2006, after I hurt my back on the job. Never in a million years did I think that at this illness would take me through theses many trials and tribulations, but it has. Yes, I’m severely depressed,have anxiety, ADHD, and bipolar! This has left me being a single parent of three, no income, doctors with co-pays, medicines that I can hardly afford, and very discouraged. But one thing that I do have, and that is my faith in the Lord! When you know you’ve seen, tried, and experience just about all of the doctors quest for helping you just to maintain, it could be very hard to focus on how to make things “normal” again!

    Reply
  • I have received my ‘winnings’ 🙂 Saturday THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Reply
  • Second time reading your informative article! Is fibromyalgia a condition that results in chronic pain in the muscles and joints of the body?
    I know that fibromyalgia and arachnoiditis presented as an acute spinal disorder.
    Fibromyalgia is a condition that causes chronic pain throughout the muscles in the body, where Arachnoiditis is a less common pain condition in which the arachnoid (a member that protects the spinal nerves) becomes inflamed.

    Reply
  • Selim Reza

    Second time reading your informative article! Is fibromyalgia a condition that results in chronic pain in the muscles and joints of the body?
    I know that fibromyalgia and arachnoiditis presented as an acute spinal disorder.
    Fibromyalgia is a condition that causes chronic pain throughout the muscles in the body, where Arachnoiditis is a less common pain condition in which the arachnoid (a member that protects the spinal nerves) becomes inflamed.

    Stem cells treatment

    Reply
  • I think very few people know about the fibromyalgia. And the way you shared the info is just awesome. Keep posting the good info.

    Reply
  • thank you for clarifying, I have shared it with Arachnoditis community of women who have sustained injury during childbirth epidural… Many women are diagnosed with fybromialgia while in fact everything is being pointed to Arachnoiditis

    Reply
  • Very nice post and extremely helpful since autonomic disorders are widely misunderstood and there are fewer experts and many people could not distinguish between two disorders.

    Reply
  • It was interesting to learn that PRP therapy has been considered as an alternative for epidurals for pain management. My grandma has been suffering from fibromyalgia for a while now. I’ll be sure to recommend she try out PRP therapy as a form of treatment.

    Reply
  • People I have fibromyalgia I have been wearing the amber necklace for ten days and I am too satisfied with the result, sleeping much better and I am more willing

    Reply
  • Medical imaging, especially X-ray based examinations and ultrasonography, is crucial in a variety of medical setting and at all major levels of health care.

    Reply
  • There are various methods in healing injuries and health problems. It is effective to use proper medication from trusted clinics.

    Reply
  • Sad so few docs are trained in distinguishing the differences between Arachnoiditis and Fibromyalgia.The platelet therapy was news to me.
    Though I would think an anti inflammatory diet and soma would help a lot.

    Reply

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