Fibromyalgia - Medications

(Page 5)

• The patient must be in a comfortable position.
• The partner presses on suspected tender points and the patient reports any pain.
• The points, when targeted, are sprayed with either ethyl chloride (Chloroethane) or Fluori-Methane. These chemicals are not numbing medicines. They cool the blood vessels in the skin to inactivate the tender points. Numbing skin creams do not appear to be effective for this treatment.
• The spray bottle is held upside-down about 12 - 18 inches from the targeted area. The patient's face should be covered if the spray is being used near the head.
• The patient's partner then slowly stretches the affected muscle.

---

---

After the procedure, the muscle should feel looser, and the patient should have a greater range of motion with that muscle.

Trigger-Point Injections. In some cases, "trigger-point injections" of a numbing drug such as lidocaine may be used for particularly painful tender points as an aid to stretching.

• The injection causes intense, but brief, pain in the trigger point. After the medication has taken effect, however, the muscle's ability to stretch is much greater.
• There is some soreness afterward, which can be severe. After an injection, spraying the whole muscle with cooling agents may inactivate less severe tender points.
• In some cases, injections may be needed several times over 6 - 8 weeks.

Review Date: 12/15/2006
Reviewed By: Harvey Simon, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School; Physician, Massachusetts General Hospital