Our Model on the Basis of Fibromyalgia ...

Our fundamental belief is that FM is a responsive condition of the brain that occurs after the buildup of a number of “underlying“ conditions.  These underlying conditions often go unresolved, and therefore may always be present in the patient.

At some point, an event such as an injury or a stressful time is often the trigger that causes onset of the fibromyalgia “state”.   Once in the FM “state”, the brain response is maintained by any number of “perpetuators”, or conditions that prevent it from returning to normal function.  The perpetuators, therefore, may include the underlying conditions too.  In other words, some of the conditions overlap.

This idea helps explain why there’s so much confusion about what conditions and symptoms are part of fibromyalgia.  Because an individual patient’s underlying and perpetuating conditions can be any number or any combination of common conditions, everybody is unique!  But the FM itself - the OUTCOME of these conditions - is common.  It is the central nervous system manifestation of what happens when these conditions build up and the brain responds to them.

These are just a FEW of the many common underlying and perpetuating conditions that may be relevant:

Myofascial pain due to myofascial trigger points

Asynchronous breathing (i.e. paradoxical breathing) patterns

Osteoarthritis and other chronic tissue pain conditions

Mild to moderate traumatic brain injury

Our approach in research is to focus on the central nervous system (i.e. brain) response that we believe is the FM state.  Our goal is to understand that mechanism and eventually learn how to overcome it.  Our hope is that once the central nervous system problem is managed, then more traditional approaches to control the underlying and perpetuating conditions can be used to prevent a return of symptoms.

McLaren / Kettering Fibromyalgia Research Program

Seeking solutions to chronic pain through the science of the brain