Hayhoe, Simon · Pain management · 2011 · DOI
Fibromyalgia is a condition causing widespread muscle pain, tiredness, and sleep problems that doctors still debate about. It shares some features with ME/CFS and may involve both physical changes in how the nervous system processes pain and psychological factors. Treatment typically includes certain antidepressants, anti-seizure medications, and talking therapy with gentle exercise, though most patients only get partial improvement.
Understanding fibromyalgia is relevant to ME/CFS research because these conditions overlap symptomatically and may share central nervous system dysfunction mechanisms. The editorial's discussion of central sensitization and the gaps between clinical outcomes and patient experience informs how ME/CFS researchers conceptualize similar pathophysiological processes.
This editorial does not establish causation or provide new experimental evidence—it synthesizes existing knowledge and opinions. It does not prove that any specific treatment is effective, only that current approaches yield partial benefit at best. The piece does not definitively establish whether fibromyalgia and ME/CFS are separate entities or points on a spectrum.
About the PEM badge: “PEM required” means post-exertional malaise was an explicit required diagnostic criterion for participant inclusion in this study — not that PEM was studied, observed, or discussed. Studies using criteria that do not require PEM (e.g. Fukuda, Oxford) are tagged “PEM not required”. How the atlas works →
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Primary citation
Hayhoe, Simon (2011). Diagnosis and management of fibromyalgia: how and why.. Pain management. https://doi.org/10.2217/pmt.11.19
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-hayhoe-2011-diagnosis-management,
author = {Hayhoe, Simon},
title = {Diagnosis and management of fibromyalgia: how and why.},
journal = {Pain management},
year = {2011},
doi = {10.2217/pmt.11.19},
note = {PubMed: 24646393},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/hayhoe-2011-diagnosis-management},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-30. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/hayhoe-2011-diagnosis-management
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