Fibromyalgia: a real phantom pain?

Fibromyalgia and phantom limb pain have in common the perception of chronic pain and paresthesia located in areas of the body that have no underlying tissue damage. Debate remains over whether the pain in these two conditions originates in the central nervous system (central sensitization) or dorsal root ganglia. This perspective examines current hypotheses on the pathogenesis of fibromyalgia and phantom limb pain, proposing that knowledge sharing on the mechanisms leading to these two conditions may help to better appraise chronic non-nociceptive pain.