Fibromyalgia management and advocacy in Brazil

Efforts to improve fibromyalgia management and support in Brazil are progressing through legislative, scientific, and social channels.

Legislative and scientific developments include Bill 5.978/2025, proposed by Federal Deputy Hugo Leal in the Chamber of Deputies, which seeks to establish multidisciplinary Pain Clinics within university hospitals to prevent fragmented care. Concurrently, researchers at Universidade Tiradentes have investigated the effects of Africanized bee venom on pain, motor movement, spinal cord structure, and psychological symptoms in experimental models, presenting findings at the World Congress of Inflammation 2026.

Social and legal initiatives have expanded following the passage of Federal Law 15.176/2025, which equates fibromyalgia to a disability for legal purposes subject to biopsychosocial evaluation. In response, the Associação Fibromiálgicas do Brasil has launched the ‘Adote uma Fibromiálgica’ project to provide free psychotherapy to uninsured patients, addressing emotional impacts like depression and anxiety. Additionally, advocacy groups such as AFIRJ in Rio de Janeiro are conducting awareness campaigns, including a walk in Teresópolis, to demand better medical care and more individualized functional assessments by the National Social Security Institute (INSS).

Discussions regarding chronic pain have also highlighted labor rights. While chronic pain alone does not guarantee retirement, a permanent reduction in work capacity—verified through a biopsychosocial evaluation—can qualify individuals for disability-based retirement, a modality that may allow individuals to continue working after receiving benefits.