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Jennifer Jowett was only 10-years-old when stomach problems began to surface.

"The inside of her stomach looked sunburned," said Janice, Jowett's mother. "She didn't have ulcers. It was just burnt all the time."

Seven years later, doctors are still in the dark about a name or cause for the discomfort. But one thing is certain: Jowett, now 17, suffers from fibromyalgia, a musculoskeletal condition that causes deep muscle pain, severe fatigue and disturbed sleep.

Not diagnosed with the condition until she was 16, Jowett had left high school half way through Grade 10, returning last week for the first time in three years after completing a six-week inpatient pediatric pain program at Bloorview Kids Rehab at Bayview and Eglinton avenues.

"I'm in pain all the time but I'm doing more," Jowett, who lives in West Guilford, north of Haliburton, said Monday during the kickoff of National Pain Awareness Week. "My stomach is the major spot (of pain) but the rest of my body always hurts."

Fibromyalgia is a chronic condition characterized by widespread pain in muscles, ligaments and tendons, as well as fatigue and multiple tender points - places on the body where slight pressure causes pain. Previously fibromyalgia was known by other names such as fibrositis, chronic muscle pain syndrome, psychogenic rheumatism and tension myalgias.

During her stay at Bloorview Kids Rehab, Canada's largest children's rehabilitation hospital, Jowett took part in regular wake up and bed times, stationary bike and jump rope exercises, occupational and physical therapy, counselling, rest breaks and class time.

She also helped in the kitchen, shopping for, preparing and cooking meals.

"I love school, I love learning," she said. "Here, it's quiet so I can focus more."

Now that Jowett is home, she's continuing with daily cardiovascular activity, she said, adding she pushes herself to the limit.

"I'm just doing it and not saying I can't do it," she said, adding she used to spend her days sleeping or playing on the computer. "I do cardio, anything to get my heart rate up. It builds up my endurance so I can do more."

The pediatric pain program was founded about 15 years ago by Dr. Brian Feldman, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Toronto in the Annex and rheumatologist at The Hospital for Sick Children.

"It first started not as a formalized program but for patients who had not been to school in a really long time," said Dana Driesman, an occupational therapist at Bloorview Kids Rehab, adding most clients have been diagnosed with fibromyalgia, chronic pain and chronic fatigue syndrome. "A lot of the time it's difficult to get a diagnosis and a lot of the time it's a misdiagnosis. The program is not meant to eliminate pain, it's meant to increase function. There is no medical intervention."

Feldman, who ran a clinic for patients with rheumatological problems at Bloorview Kids Rehab before founding the pediatric pain program, told The Mirror the program focuses on improving function and participation.

"Children learn how to deal with pain and recapture their normal life, which has often slipped away from them due to pain," he said, adding he sees about 40 new patients each year at The Hospital for Sick Children with fibromyalgia or chronic musculoskeletal pain. "Our goal is to be able to do more even with pain, however many children find that the rehab program leads to reduced pain as well, which is a wonderful side benefit."

Jowett's mother said she's relieved her daughter is back at school.

"Sitting at home is not what I wanted her to do," Janice said. "It's nice to see her getting up in the morning and going to school and talking to people again. It's hard not watching her go out with friends."

Lisa Engle, a physiotherapist at Bloorview Kids Rehab, said patients need to set weekly goals.

"In general, many kids are deconditioned," she said. "Their social life has diminished. In the first one to two weeks (of the pediatric pain program) they do so much more than they've done in years. They have to learn how to pace themselves."

Fibromyalgia Facts
• Fibromyalgia affects 900,000 (three in 100) Canadians.
• Women are at least four times more likely than men to develop fibromyalgia.
• It usually occurs in people over age 50.

Warning signs include:
• Stiffness, especially in the morning, and pain in muscles and joints all over the body.
• Trouble sleeping at night and a feeling of being tired all the time.
• Numbness in muscles and joints.
• Poor memory and concentration.
• Other warning signs may include depression, tension and migraine headaches and pain in the jaw.

- Arthritis Society of Canada