Obese fibromyalgia patients suffer more severe symptoms such as pain, reduced flexibility and sleep disturbances than those of normal weight, a new study indicates.
But the good news is that losing weight may bring a modicum of relief, other research suggests.
Noting that pain issues are common in obese people, researchers from the University of Utah analyzed 215 patients with fibromyalgia, a chronic musculoskeletal pain disorder afflicting between 3% and 5% of Americans, most of them women.
Nearly half of the study participants were obese, and another 30% were overweight, with the obese patients experiencing much greater pain to the touch in lower body areas, according to the research. One of the cardinal features of fibromyalgia is extreme pain upon palpation of at least 11 of 18 so-called tender points across the body.
continued at MedicineNet.com>>
But the good news is that losing weight may bring a modicum of relief, other research suggests.
Noting that pain issues are common in obese people, researchers from the University of Utah analyzed 215 patients with fibromyalgia, a chronic musculoskeletal pain disorder afflicting between 3% and 5% of Americans, most of them women.
Nearly half of the study participants were obese, and another 30% were overweight, with the obese patients experiencing much greater pain to the touch in lower body areas, according to the research. One of the cardinal features of fibromyalgia is extreme pain upon palpation of at least 11 of 18 so-called tender points across the body.
continued at MedicineNet.com>>
