Fibromyalgia in biblical times

Elias E. Mazokopakis; Christos G. Karagiannis

doi:10.1515/sjpain-2018-0328

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Fibromyalgia in biblical times

Elias E. Mazokopakis and Christos G. Karagiannis

Published/Copyright: December 22, 2018

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From the journal Scandinavian Journal of Pain Volume 19 Issue 2

Abstract

Although fibromyalgia (FM) is now a recognized clinical entity, an early description of this clinical syndrome is found in the Old Testament. In this Letter, biblical passages which are mentioned to the main symptoms of FM (e.g. chronic and disabling pain, unrefreshing sleep and physical exhaustion), actually associated with chronic stress and depression, are presented indicatively.

Keywords: David; fibromyalgia; Job; Old Testament; Solomon

Dear Editor,

We read with great interest the article by Taylor et al. [1] about the patients’ perspective of the effectiveness and acceptability of pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments of fibromyalgia (FM). We point out that the term FM originates from these Latin and Greek root words: “fibra” (Latin), “myos” (Greek) and “algos” (Greek). These words, when translated, respectively refer to fibrous tissue, muscles and pain. When combined as “fibro-my-algia”, they refer to the main symptoms of this clinical syndrome, which involves painful tendons, ligaments and muscles around the joints. Although conditions with symptoms similar to FM appear to have been recorded in medical journals since the early 1800s, an early description of FM with the symptoms of chronic and disabling pain, unrefreshing sleep and physical exhaustion, is found in the Old Testament, actually associated with chronic stress and depression. In the Book of Job, the passages Job 4:14 (“Dread came upon me, and trembling, which made all my bones shake”), 7:3–4 (“So I am allotted months of emptiness, and nights of misery are apportioned to me. When I lie down I say, ‘When shall I arise?’ But the night is long, and I am full of tossing till the dawn”), and 30:17 (“The night racks my bones, and the pain that gnaws me takes no rest”) describe a physical pain, which demonstrated similarities to FM [2]. In the Book of Psalms, the King David of Israel wrote the following psalms, as a consequence of various stressful situations in his life, such as his persecution by Saul and hiding as a fugitive with his men in caves of the wilderness of Judea (see 1 Samuel 23–24), or repenting sincerely for the sins of adultery and murder that he committed (see 2 Samuel 11–12): (1) Psalm 6:3–4: “Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am languishing; O Lord, heal me, for my bones are troubled. My soul also is sorely troubled. But thou, O Lord-how long?”. (2) Psalm 31:10: “For my life is spent with sorrow, and my years with sighing; my strength fails because of my misery, and my bones waste away”. (3) Psalm 32:3: “When I declared not my sin, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long”. (4) Psalm 38:3: “There is no soundness in my flesh because of thy indignation; there is no health in my bones because of my sin”. (5) Psalm 38:10: “My heart throbs, my strength fails me; and the light of my eyes-it also has gone from me”. (6) Psalm 42:10: “As with a deadly wound in my body, my adversaries taunt me, while they say to me continually, ‘Where is your God’?”. (7) Psalm 73:26: “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” Moreover, it is known that the Psalmist (the author of Psalms) suffered by depression which is associated with fibromyalgia [3], [4]. In the Book of Proverbs, known in Greek Septuagint (LXX) as “Παροιμίαι” (Paroimiai) and in Latin Vulgate as “Proverbia”, the King Solomon of Israel wrote the following: (1) Proverbs 14:30: “A tranquil mind gives life to the flesh, but passion makes the bones rot”. (2) Proverbs 17:22: “A cheerful heart is a good medicine, but a downcast spirit dries up the bones”. Both in biblical texts (such as the above indicatively) and Christian Patristic Tradition, the unity, interaction and interdependence of the physical and mental dimension (body-soul) of the human being is obvious and indisputable [5], [6], [7], [8].

Authors’ statements
Research funding: Authors state no funding involved.
Conflict of interest: Authors state no conflict of interest.

References

[1] Taylor SJ, Steer M, Ashe SC, Furness PJ, Haywood-Small S, Lawson K. Patients’ perspective of the effectiveness and acceptability of pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments of fibromyalgia. Scand J Pain 2019;19:167–81.10.1515/sjpain-2018-0116Search in Google Scholar PubMed

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[5] Saint Gregory of Nyssa. On the Making of Man, 29, Patrologia Graeca (PG) 44, 233–40.Search in Google Scholar

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Received: 2018-10-18

Revised: 2018-11-01

Accepted: 2018-11-07

Published Online: 2018-12-22

Published in Print: 2019-04-24

Articles in the same Issue

https://doi.org/10.1515/sjpain-2018-0328

Keywords for this article

David; fibromyalgia; Job; Old Testament; Solomon