The term myalgia may seem new to you, but what you may not know is that you may have experienced myalgia at some point in your life. It generally describes muscle pains or aches from all sorts of causes. You can get muscle pain from exercising, engaging in a sports activity, or getting bruised, and all these relate to myalgia.
On the other hand, fibromyalgia has often been confused with myalgia, especially with people with no background knowledge of medicine. Both are associated with muscle pain but very different in many aspects. Fibromyalgia is a severe medical condition often treated with FDA-approved antidepressants, anti-seizure drugs, and other off-label drugs like CBD.
Let us look at the main differences between fibromyalgia and myalgia:
Myalgia Is a Symptom; Fibromyalgia Is a Condition
Myalgia is a symptom as opposed to a disease. The symptom can be short-term or long-term, with the latter having a possibility of causing a severe health condition. Short-term myalgia can be caused by overworking the muscles, having muscle cramps, or pulls. Long-term myalgia is much more than muscle pain as it can affect muscle tendons and ligaments, and other body organs. Myalgia on itself is an effect felt after muscle overuse.
In contrast, fibromyalgia is a severe medical condition with myalgia included as one of its common symptoms. Fibromyalgia is characterized by muscle pain and is accompanied by sleep problems, fatigue, and depression. Fibromyalgia can potentially develop into a chronic condition if it goes on for months.
Severity
Myalgia is a symptom that can be treated with ordinary painkillers. However, if you have myalgia and experience other symptoms like fatigue and sleeping difficulties, then there is a chance that you might be having fibromyalgia. If left untreated for a long time, fibromyalgia can develop into a chronic medical condition. As such, it is treated with potent drugs like Lyrica to help reduce symptom severity. Myalgia patients only require a small dose of ordinary painkillers to help alleviate the symptoms.
The Bottom Line
It is crucial to tell the difference between myalgia and fibromyalgia so that you get to know the mode of treatment you should follow. A pure muscle pain characterizes myalgia, but fibromyalgia is characterized by muscle pain accompanied by other symptoms like fatigue and sleep problems. If you experience muscle pain, you can use standard painkillers to ease the symptoms but consult a doctor immediately if fibromyalgia-like symptoms appear.…