Fibromyalgia Trigger Points of Pain

Medical researchers studied the results of 18 randomized controlled studies and discovered that the pain, fatigue and depression experienced by fibromyalgia sufferers was reduced depending on the class of anti-depressants prescribed.

The meta-analysis of these clinical trials was conducted by researchers at the Klinikum Saarbrucken in Germany and was reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA, 2009). The class of anti-depressants used made a difference: the older tricyclics and tetracyclic antidepressants produced the most pain reduction while older monoamine oxidase inhibitors produced moderate results. The newest class of antidepressants, the SSRIs (selective serotonin inhibitors) produced the least results. 

Fibromyalgia is a chronic, generalized musculoskeletal pain that can not be attributed to any specific underlying inflammatory or structural pathology. Approximately 10-12% of the population suffer from this and it predominately affects women more than men. You can read more about fibromyalgia on the National Institutes of Health web site.