Good news for the two million people with fibromyalgia in France. Faced with this condition recognized by the World Health Organization but whose causes remain mysterious, here is the very first official recommendation emanating from the High Authority of Health (HAS) seized by patient associations.
Its objectives: define and improve the diagnostic stages to graduate the therapeutic strategy and provide patients with appropriate and evolving responses.
Fibromyalgia, a complex disease often trivialized
This first text has the merit of being clear and of constituting an important step towards better management of a complex, often trivialized disease affecting nearly 21% of the population in France, with three times more women than men being affected.
Defined by diffuse pain that has been developing for more than three months, often associated with other symptoms (fatigue, sleep disorders, anxiety-depressive disorders, etc.), the diagnosis is not easy to make. As the HAS writes, “ no biological or radiological examination allows us to confirm this".
Read alsoFibromyalgia: What science knows about this syndrome, which affects around 21% of French people
The first treatment: get moving
Everything therefore depends on a complete clinical examination, the presence of pain for more than three months and above all on the use of simple assessment tools such as the FIRST self-questionnaire. And the official text continues by insisting on the fact that " listening to patients and recognizing their suffering are a prerequisite for their commitment to care, which is essentially non-drug".
Because Even if it may seem counter-intuitive when faced with pain that is often diffuse and invasive, the first treatment actually consists of moving. Getting back into movement gradually is fundamental here, with the therapeutic strategy primarily based on gentle, regular physical activities, adapted to each individual.
In September 2025, the HAS will publish a document specifically intended for patients and proposing a typology of exercises taking into account the specificities of the disease.
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