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Stories for Reprint
It's Harder for Kids with Fibromyalgia
By Erin Willis, MARRTC Staff
A new study by Fordham University in New York found that children and teenagers with fibromyalgia often have a difficult time dealing with hassles of everyday life.
"Although some doctors have speculated that fibromyalgia is related to stress or may even begin following a stressful event, there have been very few studies to look at this question," says lead researcher, Christopher Libby, Ph.D. and fellow at the Arthritis Foundation. "In our study with children and adolescents, we found that major life events were not significantly related to adjustment to fibromyalgia."
Fibromyalgia causes chronic, widespread pain in the body's muscles and tissues. The level of pain ranges from mild to severe and sometimes is described as burning or aching pain, reports the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases.
Stress is thought to intensify the symptoms of fibromyalgia, often causing more pain and fatigue. Researchers found this to be true in children and teenagers, too.
Going somewhat beyond the reaches of this study, Libby says, "Some doctors and researchers would suggest that people with fibromyalgia could be more sensitive to stress. Their condition may tend to 'flare up' or worsen under times of stress. This can potentially lead to more pain, fatigue, sleep problems, and other symptoms if stress is not well managed. For some individuals, stress may be part of a cycle that maintains fibromyalgia."
Fifty-seven participants between the ages of 10 and 18, were asked about different aspects of life with fibromyalgia, including pain levels, emotional status, quality of life, and their ability to cope with daily hassles.
"Daily hassles are the everyday stressors and annoyances that are encountered," explains Libby. "While these are relatively minor compared to major life events like death or divorce, hassles can add up. For children, these include things like teasing and academic worries."
The results indicated that children with fibromyalgia often experience feelings of depression when faced with daily hassles. These daily hassles added stress, but, did not always increase pain.
"Research has indicated that children and adolescents with musculoskeletal pain, including fibromyalgia, are at increased risk for a number of psychosocial and academic difficulties including high levels of depression, behavior problems, anxiety, social difficulties, and school absenteeism," says Libby.
In fact, it was shown that stress may intensify symptoms of fibromyalgia in children. The more confidence children have in themselves and their ability to cope with symptoms of the disease, the better their quality of life is.
"Catastrophic thinking is a worst-case scenario view of what will happen," explains Libby. "It includes those anxious 'what if' thoughts that cause people to worry about their health. This type of thinking will lead people to fear their medical condition and to worry that it will never get better."
This study found that for children with fibromyalgia, teaching them mental and emotional coping skills might be beneficial to the symptoms of the disease.
"These results imply that one's attitude and beliefs about fibromyalgia and the presence of catastrophic thinking can affect the pain and quality of life experienced," says Libby.
Parents and caregivers are extremely important in helping children cope with fibromyalgia. "First, parents should become better educated about fibromyalgia," suggests Libby. "Few parents are commonly acquainted with the term 'fibromyalgia' when their child is diagnosed."
Libby also suggests that parents be very supportive of their child's pain. "Parents might also try to model an adaptive response to pain, such as using distraction or other adaptive coping skills," Libby says. "As this study would suggest, it will be best if children develop self-efficacy beliefs [or confidence in their abilities] that they can overcome pain and avoid catastrophic thinking about fibromyalgia symptoms."
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