Pain

1-Muscles 2-Joints 3-Headaches 4-Lymph nodes
5-Abdominal 6-Sore throat 7-Eyes 8-Chest pain
Data from: Institute of Medicine 2015 (CDC, Jason et al. 2013b)

Pain in medical diagnosis is regarded as a symptom of an underlying condition. 

Pain in ME/CFS

Pain occurs in a wide range of forms in ME/CFS. These include:

• abdominal pain
• allodynia
• arthralgia (joint pain)
• carpal tunnel syndrome
• chest pain
• chronic pain
• ear pain
• esophageal spasms
• eye pain
• fibromyalgia
• gallbladder pain
• headaches
• heartburn
• hyperalgesia
• migraine
• muscle spasms
• myalgia (muscle pain)
• neck pain
• proctalgia fugax
• sciatica
• sinus headache
• vein pain, and
• tenesmus.

Pain can also occur as a consequence of common comorbid illnesses such as endometriosis, Sjögren's syndrome, IBS or fibromyalgia.

Pain in Fibromyalgia

Researchers believe that fibromyalgia (FM) amplifies painful sensations by affecting the way your brain processes pain signals. Many people with FM will have other pain conditions such as:

• tension headaches and migraines
• temporomandibular joint disorders (TMJ)
• rheumatoid arthritis (RA)
• lupus
• Sjögren's syndrome
• ankylosing spondylitis
• irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
• pelvic pain like menstrual cycle cramps and interstitial cystitis
• weight gain which leads to mechanical stress on joints
• anxiety and depression.

Symptom recognition

• In the Canadian Consensus Criteria, pain is a required criteria for diagnosis. It requires that "there is a significant degree of myalgia. Pain can be experienced in the muscles, and/or joints, and is often widespread and migratory in nature. Often there are significant headaches of new type, pattern or severity."

See also

• Pain relief (analgesics)
• Chronic pain

National Academy of Medicine (NAM) - An American non-profit, non-governmental organization which provides expert advice to governmental agencies on issues relating to biomedical science, medicine and health. Formerly known as the Institute of Medicine (IOM).

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) - The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is a U.S. government agency dedicated to epidemiology and public health. It operates under the auspices of the Department of Health and Human Services.