National Fibromyalgia Association

Founded in 1997 in Orange, California, by Lynne Matallana and Karen Lee Richards, the National Fibromyalgia Association (NFA) is the most active and respected non-profit [501(c) 3] organization working to support people with fibromyalgia and other chronic pain illnesses. Lynne and Karen became acquainted in the mid-1990s through an online fibromyalgia (FM) chat group. Both women had seen numerous doctors before receiving a diagnosis and they were concerned that many people with FM were not receiving the medical attention and support they so desperately needed. Before long, the pair was sharing ideas about helping others with FM. They concluded that there was very little reliable information about this stigmatized and debilitating condition—and that patients and health care providers needed to unite to ensure helpful information was easily accessible to those with this chronic disorder.