On our main site, we have a page about Fibromyalgia Tenderpoints.  This post is an expansion of that.  You can go to our main site for more information about Tenderpoints.

When having an ailment, in this case a syndrome, it is essential to understand everything about the challenge at hand, especially when it is fibromyalgia.  The common analysis is that your body is in constant pain due to the slightest pressure in areas of muscle. In this article you will find that there are certain areas in the body called fibromyalgia tender points, where the pain specifically occurs.  There are 18 tender points overall in nine bilateral locations for us to explore.

your knees - Are an area that everyone has an easy time attesting to pain when fibromyalgia is concerned.  There is an area around your knee that originates at the medial fat pad proximal to the joint line.  When looking at a anatomy chart it is located around the inside area of both knees.

greater trochanter - In medical terms its the posterior to the trochanteric promince.  In civilian terms that means right below your buttocks around the hip area.

gluteal area -  Working our way up the body the gluteal is in the upper, outer area of the buttocks in the anterior fold of muscle.  Basically stating its around your waistline area.

lateral epicondyle -  If you are sitting at a table and lay your arms out with palms up you can look around the front side of your elbow area on the outer region.  It can also mean the 2cm distal to the epicondyles.

supraspinatus -  is located above the spine of the scapula, close to the medial border.  Think of this as your shoulder blade area. 

second rib -  the upper area, located lateral to the costochondral junction.  You can feel this area right around the collarbone.

trapezius -  is located at the midpoint of the upper border.  A great way to figure this out is the next time someone massages your shoulders the area where their thumbs are is the region of the trapezius.

lower cervical region -  The anterior aspects of the inter-transverse spaces at C5-C7.  If you place your fingers on the front of your neck and slide them down until they hit the collarbone area you will have located the lower cervical region.

occiput -  This is located in the back of your head situated at the low end of the cranium.  Giving a massage, you can place your hands at each side of a person's neck and use your thumbs to work this area.

If you feel that several of these areas are painful you should consult your physician.  When examined, doctors use the 11/18 rule where if eleven out of the eighteen regions result in positive testing to determine if you have fibromyalgia.  It may even be wise for you to have a friend, spouse or other relative test the locations of the fibromyalgia tender points.  As opposed to doing it yourself when you know your own pain tolerance.