18 Point Fibromyalgia Test
These are not to be confused with trigger points which cause pain in another part of the body when pressed.
18 point fibromyalgia test. The 18 tender points or trigger points used to diagnose fibromyalgia are scattered all over the body. Tender points are defined by the acr as 18 bilateral points on the body nine on one side and nine on the other where pain can be felt immediately beneath the skin when pressed. The 18 tender points associated with fibromyalgia occur in symmetrical pairs from the back of your head to your inner knees. The american college of rheumatology included counting tender points in their 1990 fibromyalgia diagnostic criteria establishing that 11 of the 18 tender points had to be present and cause pain for at least three months.
Ibs sometimes coincides with fibromyalgia. These 18 points 9 pairs tend to be painful when pressed and may spread pain to other body. Tender points are found on the neck shoulder blades lower back elbows buttocks knees and other areas. Fibromyalgia tender points are located in clusters around the neck chest.
The american college of rheumatology has charted 18 tender points. See pictures explaining symptoms muscle pain fatigue tests causes and treatments in this webmd slideshow. In the past at least 11 of these 18 spots had to test positive for tenderness to diagnose fibromyalgia. But updated guidelines for 2010 did not require counting tender points in order to make a fibromyalgia diagnosis.
And many family doctors were uncertain about how much pressure to apply during a tender point exam. These tender points are quite small but a good doctor knows how to locate them. Doctors often check for certain tender points on the body when it comes to diagnosing fibromyalgia. Diagnosing fibromyalgia with tender points there are 18 tender points throughout the body each about the size of a penny.
They have issued the following guidelines to doctors for diagnosing fibromyalgia.