The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) has reported that patients with fibromyalgia resistant to more routine therapies have a new pain relief treatment available. Intravenous (IV) lidocaine infusion provided significant pain relief to fibromyalgia patients in a recent study presented at the ANESTHESIOLOGY™ 2013 annual meeting in October.

The study involved 55 fibromyalgia patients whose pain did not respond to more conservative treatments.
Statistics were collected for pain duration, pain relief duration after lidocaine infusion, and scores on the brief pain inventory scale, visual analog scale and pain interference scale before and after the infusion. The study found a significant level of pain relief after the infusion.
Fibromyalgia affects an estimated 10 million people in the United States and is one of the most common pain conditions doctors see. Fibromyalgia is a central nervous system disorder characterized by widespread pain throughout the body as well as a heightened, painful response to pressure. Additional symptoms include fatigue, sleep disorders and joint stiffness.

“Fibromyalgia is a truly debilitating disease that can have a severe impact on quality of life,” according to Billy K. Huh, M.D., Ph.D., of the Department of Pain Medicine at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston.
For more information about IV treatments at our office please see our IV Vitamins Page
information and our articles on fibromyalgia/ Chronic Fatigue syndrome.