Arthritis and rheumatism
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Arthritis and rheumatism · Feb 1988
Tenderness in 75 anatomic sites. Distinguishing fibromyalgia patients from controls.
We studied tenderness at 75 unilateral anatomic locations in 10 fibromyalgia patients and 10 normal control subjects to determine which sites best identified patients with fibromyalgia. Using a dolorimeter, the mean amount of pressure required to elicit tenderness was significantly lower in patients than in controls at 19 sites (P less than 0.001). ⋯ The 19 sites that we have identified best separate patients with fibromyalgia from controls, although the discriminating power of these sites in other chronic pain syndromes will require further study. Examination of specific regions may be more useful clinically than the exact anatomic sites within these regions.