Abstract

Self-injurious behavior in fibromyalgia: a case report

Author(s): Bernard Panaszek, Krzysztof Gomulka, Anna Wolanczyk-Medrala, Paulina Dziemieszonek

Background:

Fibromyalgia (FM) is psychosomatic disorder characterized by central sensitization with increased reactivity of pain-sensitive nerve cells in the spinal cord or brain, which results in hypersensitivity to painful and no painful stimuli in person usually presented anxiety or mood disorders. Chronic pain, sleep disturbances, and depression, which are leading symptoms of FM, have been reported to be associated with an increased possibility of suicidal behaviors. Non-suicidal self-injuries are rather not demonstrated in FM and not described in literature.

Objective:

We present the case of patient with FM, in which pain typical for this syndrome resulted in harmful behavior as banging and hitting. This is the first case of FM in our knowledge, not described yet in literature, in which strong painful stimuli induced by self - strokes caused in general pain relieve but also destruction of body tissue i.e. bruises typical for hemorrhagic purpura.