Bodily practices and the interdisciplinary treatment of people with fibromyalgia: the gift of care

Abstract

Fibromyalgia is a rheumatic syndrome characterized by chronic and diffuse musculoskeletal pain that presents diagnostic and therapeutic challenges to Western medical rationality. Studies highlight the role of interdisciplinary treatment (IT) and corporal practices of health (CPH) in terms of health care and reception. The acts of giving, receiving, and returning symbolic gifts of care provide sociability, recognition, and legitimacy in the health field. The objective of this article is to understand IT and CPH as a system for exchanging health care gifts that is established between people diagnosed with fibromyalgia and health professionals. This is a qualitative study carried out by applying an open interview and carrying out field observation with eight people diagnosed with fibromyalgia and a semi-open questionnaire with nine health professionals. Content Analysis led to the elaboration of a thematic category: “The triple obligation cycle of giving health care.” The constitution of the gift in the health care process occurred by an affective-therapeutic displacement to the other, a gift of hospitality, and a gift of recognition. In summary, it was possible to perceive the relevance of IT and CPH as circuits of reciprocity capable of building new social uses of the body in social instances of life.