ABSTRACT
Fibromyalgia is a syndrome rather than an actual disease. It occurs commonly, particularly in women and is often very difficult to manage. No specific pathology has been demonstrated in patients with fibromyalgia and for many years patients with this syndrome have been thought to have a psychosomatic basis for their symptoms or indeed to be imagining them. As characteristic features of fibromyalgia have been recognised making it easier to make a diagnosis, there has been an increase in interest in the condition with a subsequent improvement in management.
