Fibromyalgia, a chronic health condition in which victims experience pain and tenderness throughout the body, as well as fatigue and trouble sleeping, should be recognised as a health issue, the Dutch health council says.

The council carried out an assessment of the science surrounding fibromyalgia after a petition calling for action and signed by almost 57,000 people was submitted to the health ministry. 

The condition is typified by pain in the muscles and ligaments, and stiffness, particularly in the morning and after long periods of sitting. In the Netherlands, some 340,000 people are thought to be affected, according to patients’ association FES. 

It is currently not classified as an illness because no biomedical cause has yet been established. However, this does not make it any the less serious and it should, therefore, be recognised as a health problem, the council said. 

Formal recognition means that the healthcare sector and insurers are required to take it seriously and take it into account when assessing if someone is fit for work or not. 

There is currently no cure or treatment for fibromyalgia but scientists suggest a variety of biological, psychological and social mechanisms could play a part in its development. 

Deborah Ferraz, diagnosed with fibromyalgia in 1997, told Dutch News she is very relieved by the council’s recommendations. “I always get the feeling that I am not believed and people think it is something between my ears,” she said. “It is an invisible illness and I wish sometimes that it showed on the outside.”