When was Fibromyalgia first identified ?
Fibromyalgia is definitely not a new illness, and doctors have been aware of this condition for centuries. In 1843, a physician named Robert Froricep described a condition he observed in his patients as “rheumatism with painful hard places.” In the early 1900s, Sir William Gowers observed symptoms in his painful muscular symptoms in his patients, and called this disease fibrositis.
Fibromyalgia has been known by many other names, including chronic rheumatism, myalgia, and muscular rheumatism, myofibrositis, and spinal irritation. Some of the terms once used to describe fibromyalgia, such as “morbid affectation” and “Charcot’s hysteria,” reflect an unfortunate tendency of the medical community to dismiss FMS as a form of hypochondria or mental illness. Before the development of sensitive, technologically advanced tests, fibromyalgia sufferers seemed to present no obvious measurable physiological changes.
In 1981, the American Medial Association (AMA) recognized FMS as a true physical illness and a major cause of disability, and in 1993, the World Health Organization (WHO) as part of the Copenhagen Declaration officially declared fibromyalgia a syndrome. Because of this action, the illness was given an ICD code (International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems).
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