Fibromyalgia is a syndrome with multisystem manifestations and “characterized by chronic, widespread musculoskeletal pain without evidence of soft tissue inflammation” (Mbuyi, 2018, p. 491). Research suggests that fibromyalgia (FM) is a disorder of pain regulation, specifically centralized pain processing (Clauw, 2014). Centralized pain refers to amplified pain that originates in the central nervous system (Clauw, 2014).
As according to Menzies (2016), in the United States, fibromyalgia is estimated to affect up to 15 million people, and is believed to be 80% to 90% of whom are women. Menzies (2016) also reported that fibromyalgia is effecting 2% to 8% of the population worldwide. Ferri (2017) believed the prevalence of fibromyalgia increases with age. He reported that “In the US, fibromyalgia is the most common cause of musculoskeletal pain in women ages 20 to 55 year. Using the 2010 American college of rheumatology diagnostic criteria for fibromyalgia, the female-to-male ratio is approximately 2:1” (p. 475)