Fibromyalgia is a mysterious chronic pain disorder that is difficult to treat. Its causes are also still largely in the dark. A study conducted by the team at the Clinic for Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy at Ruhr University Bochum, Germany, provides evidence that certain brain areas involved in processing pain don’t function normally in fibromyalgia patients. In healthy people, they ensure that pain that we can control is easier to bear. The study found that these brain areas showed altered activity in patients with fibromyalgia.