Apr 07 2009
The Dotted Lines
There are specific tests that tell the doctors if you have it or not have a great deal to do with trigger points in your body.
You can almost do a dot to dot drawing to see where the doctors are going to be checking for the pain in specific areas.
Now you will not be drawing the picture of beautiful art. However, you will be painting a clear picture of what the expectations will be.
There are 18 specific points and 9 bilateral locations. These are muscle locations. When pressure is applied to these areas, you will feel anything from mild to moderate pain. For example the gluteal area for me (my rear end area) is one of the ones that when tested makes we want to jump up off the examination table. However the knee area only hurts mildly.
The key areas are as follows:
1. Knee
2. Greater trochanter (rear hip)
3. Gluteal (rear end)
4. Supraspinatus muscle (shoulder blade)
5. Trapezius muscle (back shoulder)
6. Occiput (back of the neck)
7. Second rib
8. Low cervical region (Front Neck)
9. Lateral epicondyle (Elbow)
You may hear these points called tender points. This is the same thing, just a different name. Either way, point to point, the main thing is that you need to be honest with your doctor and tell them the pain in those areas and at what level you have that pain when they test you.
Other areas that you will likely find the pain is in your face, jaw and head. Your hands, feet, intestines and other areas are likely to feel sore and tender. But the main points will tell the doctor what they are looking at.
So here is something that you can do to help your doctor be aware of what you are experiencing. Go grab a small journal from the store. It can even be a note pad. List 2-3 times per day the areas, the level and what type of pain you are feeling. This will help them to know patterns to look for. Since Fibromyalgia has so many other illnesses that tend to go along with it, the more you can tell the doctor, the better they can treat you for the different illnesses.
Remember, knowledge is power. The more power you take to control Fibro, the better off you will be! So take your pen and draw the dotted lines. Empower yourself and your doctor to help you have the successful life you deserve.
