How Fibromyalgia Affects Men: Symptoms and Diagnosis

Men With Fibromyalgia Talk About Their Symptoms, Diagnosis, and Dealing With Other People's Reactions

Randy Wold, 58, was an auto mechanic, an excellent golfer, and a bowler who never scored below 200. Then, nearly 10 years ago, when he was suffering from intense chronic pain, he received a surprise diagnosis. His doctor told him he had fibromyalgia.

A disorder that causes chronic pain and fatigue, fibromyalgia strikes mostly women. Of the estimated 5 million adults with fibromyalgia in the U.S., as few as 10% are men. For that reason, the popular perception of it as a women's disease has persisted, even among fellow patients.

"When I first went to a support group meeting, it was all women," says Wold, who is now on the board of the National Fibromyalgia Association - and the only male board member with the disease. "Some didn't want me there."

A neurologist who Wold consulted wouldn't see him, discounting his diagnosis and accusing him of angling to get disability payments.

"It's a tough deal for a man to have fibromyalgia," says Wold, who is no longer able to work and can only occasionally hit the links or the lanes. "One of my best friends doesn't believe I have it," he says. "His wife, who is a doctor, told him men can't get it, that it is in my head. That kind of hurt."

It's uncertain what causes fibromyalgia or why so few men suffer from it. Certain types of viral infections, traumas such as car accidents, and emotional stress can trigger it. In some cases, though, it strikes without warning.

Whatever the cause, there are certain biological markers that those with the disorder frequently have in common. According to Muhammad B. Yunus, MD, a professor of medicine at the University of Illinois College of Medicine, fibromyalgia is characterized by an imbalance of chemicals in the brain.

"It is a neurochemical disease," says Yunus, who points out that people with fibromyalgia show a higher than average amount of substance P, a neurotransmitter that signals pain, and a lower than average amount of serotonin, a neurotransmitter that inhibits pain.

Genetics and hormones, says Yunus, also appear to play a role, both in causing the disease and in the gender discrepancy associated with it.

"There are genes that make people more susceptible to pain, and some are related to gender," he says. "And women are more susceptible to pain because estrogen reduces the pain threshold."

That heightened sensitivity to pain may give women higher odds of getting a diagnosis of fibromyalgia.

A common test that doctors perform is to apply a fixed amount of pressure to what are called "tender points": 18 specific points on the body, designated by the American College of Rheumatology, where even a light touch can cause pain.

At least 11 of those spots must produce a significant pain response in order to merit a diagnosis. But because men have a higher threshold for pain, they often don't meet the criteria.

"Women seem literally more tender than men," Yunus says.

View the original article here

How Fibromyalgia Affects Men: Symptoms and Diagnosis

Men With Fibromyalgia Talk About Their Symptoms, Diagnosis, and Dealing With Other People's Reactions

Randy Wold, 58, was an auto mechanic, an excellent golfer, and a bowler who never scored below 200. Then, nearly 10 years ago, when he was suffering from intense chronic pain, he received a surprise diagnosis. His doctor told him he had fibromyalgia.

A disorder that causes chronic pain and fatigue, fibromyalgia strikes mostly women. Of the estimated 5 million adults with fibromyalgia in the U.S., as few as 10% are men. For that reason, the popular perception of it as a women's disease has persisted, even among fellow patients.

"When I first went to a support group meeting, it was all women," says Wold, who is now on the board of the National Fibromyalgia Association - and the only male board member with the disease. "Some didn't want me there."

A neurologist who Wold consulted wouldn't see him, discounting his diagnosis and accusing him of angling to get disability payments.

"It's a tough deal for a man to have fibromyalgia," says Wold, who is no longer able to work and can only occasionally hit the links or the lanes. "One of my best friends doesn't believe I have it," he says. "His wife, who is a doctor, told him men can't get it, that it is in my head. That kind of hurt."

It's uncertain what causes fibromyalgia or why so few men suffer from it. Certain types of viral infections, traumas such as car accidents, and emotional stress can trigger it. In some cases, though, it strikes without warning.

Whatever the cause, there are certain biological markers that those with the disorder frequently have in common. According to Muhammad B. Yunus, MD, a professor of medicine at the University of Illinois College of Medicine, fibromyalgia is characterized by an imbalance of chemicals in the brain.

"It is a neurochemical disease," says Yunus, who points out that people with fibromyalgia show a higher than average amount of substance P, a neurotransmitter that signals pain, and a lower than average amount of serotonin, a neurotransmitter that inhibits pain.

Genetics and hormones, says Yunus, also appear to play a role, both in causing the disease and in the gender discrepancy associated with it.

"There are genes that make people more susceptible to pain, and some are related to gender," he says. "And women are more susceptible to pain because estrogen reduces the pain threshold."

That heightened sensitivity to pain may give women higher odds of getting a diagnosis of fibromyalgia.

A common test that doctors perform is to apply a fixed amount of pressure to what are called "tender points": 18 specific points on the body, designated by the American College of Rheumatology, where even a light touch can cause pain.

At least 11 of those spots must produce a significant pain response in order to merit a diagnosis. But because men have a higher threshold for pain, they often don't meet the criteria.

"Women seem literally more tender than men," Yunus says.

View the original article here

Treadmill Walking Improves Parkinson’s Symptoms

Low-Intensity Treadmill Training Helps Parkinson's Patients' Gait, Mobility

April 12, 2011 -- People with Parkinson’s disease who walk on a treadmill at a comfortable, low-intensity speed may be able to improve their gait and mobility, new research indicates.

Such exercise may be better than walking at faster speeds for a shorter period of time or resistance training that includes leg-press repetitions, curls, and extensions, according to researchers from the University of Maryland.

In the first randomized trial of its kind, researchers enrolled 67 Parkinson’s disease patients who had trouble walking and assigned them to three types of exercise.

One group did high-intensity treadmill walking, walking at faster speeds but for a shorter duration of 30 minutes. Another group walked on a treadmill at slower speeds, but for a longer period of 50 minutes. The third group stretched and performed other resistance exercises, including repetitions of leg presses, extensions, and curls.

All participants exercised three times a week for three months, supervised by exercise physiologists at the Baltimore VA Medical Center.

The study results indicate that low-intensity treadmill training resulted in the most consistent improvements in gait and mobility. People who trained with low-intensity walking performed better than people in the other two groups on distance and speed tests.

Only stretching and resistance training improved scores on a standard Parkinson’s disease performance measure, called the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale.

“Contrary to evidence suggesting that high-intensity exercise is the most effective, our results suggest that a combination of low-intensity training and stretching-resistance training may achieve the greatest improvements for people with Parkinson’s disease,” Lisa M. Shulman, MD, of the University of Maryland, says in a news release. “These results have important implications for how we manage Parkinson’s disease, since low-intensity exercise can be done by most people with Parkinson’s, and our patients frequently ask what type of exercise they should be doing.”

The study is being presented in Honolulu at the 63rd annual meeting of the American Society of Neurology.

This study was presented at a medical conference. The findings should be considered preliminary as they have not yet undergone the "peer review" process, in which outside experts scrutinize the data prior to publication in a medical journal.

View the original article here