Now back to answering the question, why don’t anti-inflammatories work for fibromyalgia? The answer is simple and many of you probably should have guessed by now. Yes, that’s because despite all the pain associated with it, fibromyalgia is not considered as an inflammatory illness.
Having said that, blood test of most fibromyalgia patients do reveal a presence of slightly raised inflammation levels as compared to healthy individuals but the elevation is not sufficient to qualify as chronic inflammation. Some experts believe that inflammation occurring just beneath the skin in the fascia could be responsible for the inflammation levels seen in fibromyalgia patients. However, this remains a debatable theory.
To date, researchers have reached a common consensus that fibromyalgia pain is neurological, and not inflammatory. Many experts explain that the elevated pain in fibromyalgia is somewhat due to a dysfunctional brain and central nervous system resulting in central sensitization in patients.
This explains why anticonvulsant drugs like Pregabalin (Lyrica), Neurontin (Gabapentin) or antidepressants like Duloxetine (Cymbalta), Milnacipran (Savella) are more effective for reducing symptoms in fibromyalgia patients.
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Sources:
- Dellwo, Adrienne. "Why Don't Anti-Inflammatories Work for Fibromyalgia Pain?" Verywell.
- Nordqvist, Christian. "Inflammation: Causes, Symptoms and Treatment." Medical News Today. MediLexicon International
