Fibromyalgia: is it a neuropathic pain?

Abstract

Fibromyalgia is a chronic pain syndrome of unclear pathophysiology. It is believed to be a dysfunction of the CNS, but no definite structural lesion has been identified so far. Despite a number of changes in the diagnostic criteria, diagnosis remains a clinical one. Since the 2011 revision of the IASP definition of neuropathic pain, fibromyalgia has been excluded from the diagnosis of neuropathic pain. More recent studies however found newer evidences of pathophysiology including small fiber neuropathy in patients with fibromyalgia. This may challenge the existing consensus and have implications on future diagnosis and management of this condition.