Tender Points
Although, as mentioned previously, fibromyalgia is associated with the experience of widespread pain, they also tend to experience pain and tenderness at specific points. Researchers have identified a total of eighteen different points. According to the American College of Rheumatology, a person should test positive for a minimum of eleven of these eighteen points before being diagnosed with fibromyalgia. Examples of tender points include the back of the neck, the forearms near the elbow crease, in front of the neck on each side of the larynx, the hips, the lower back, the back of the knees, the upper back, between the shoulders and neck, and the chest.
