What is Fibromyalgia?

What is Fibromyalgia?

If you are wondering what is fibromyalgia? It is actually a disorder that is characterized by widespread musculoskeletal aching. Fibromyalgia-related pain is pain that causes you to ache all over. You may have painful “tender points,” places on your body that hurt. It also causes pain and achiness around the joints in neck, shoulders, back, and hips. This kind of pain makes it difficult to sleep or exercise. This is generally also accompanied by a sleep disorder, fatigue, mood fluctuations, and memory issues. Researchers also believe that the onset of fibromyalgia tends to amplify the painful sensations. This happens because fibromyalgia tends to affect the way in which your brain exercises pain signals.

The symptoms at times start after the surgery, physical trauma, major psychological stress, or infection. However, in other instances, the symptoms happen to accumulate gradually over time. There is not a single event that triggers pain.

When it comes to gender being affected by the same, women are highly likely to contract fibromyalgia as opposed to men. Many patients who suffer from fibromyalgia also notice the onset of tension headaches, TMJ or Temporomandibular Disorder, anxiety, IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome), and depression.

While fibromyalgia pain has no evident cure as of now, a combination of medicines can allow proper control over the symptoms. Further, lifestyle changes such as stress-reduction, relaxation, and exercise can help a lot in the reduction of pain for this chronic condition.

Causes

Even after years of research doctors have been unable to decode the prime cause of fibromyalgia. However, it involves a wide variety of everyday factors working collaboratively to induce pain in the body. Commonly known factors that might cause fibromyalgia include:

Genetics:

Fibromyalgia is often noted to be diagnosed among family members. There can be several genetic mutations that make you highly susceptible to the development of this disorder.

Infections:

Some forms of illnesses that cause inflammation in the body can aggravate or trigger fibromyalgia.

Emotional or Physical Trauma:

Another factor that might be responsible for triggering fibromyalgia is physical or emotional trauma. Physical trauma like an accident or psychological stress such as breakup or dead of any loved one can trigger this condition.

Giving Birth:

Giving birth is a beautiful experience. However, it can wreak havoc to a woman’s body with so much pain. Women who fail to adapt to the pain often tend to complain of fibromyalgia post birth.

Apart from these common causes, one can also experience the onset of fibromyalgia due to:

• Repetitive Injuries
• Rheumatoid Arthritis
• Autoimmune disorders like Lupus
• CNS or Central Nervous System Problems
• Ankylosing Spondylitis
• Spinal Arthritis

Due to a lack of a proper cure for fibromyalgia, it can develop in anyone. However, it is noted to affect women 7 times more as compared to men. It is a condition that generally develops between 30 & 50 years of age. However, it can take over patients regardless of their age and is more prevalent among the elderly and children. It is unclear whether

Symptoms

Fibromyalgia causes pain at the tender points of the body that at times can be indistinguishable from other varieties of pain. If you have fibromyalgia, you can experience the given symptoms:

Widespread Pain:

The pain paired with the onset of fibromyalgia can often be described as something that is dull and yet constant. This pain can last as way beyond a term of 3 months. In order to be considered a widespread pain, it must occur all over the body regardless of whether below or above the waist. Widespread pain and tenderness is the most prominent symptom of fibromyalgia.

Fatigue:

People who develop fibromyalgia often wake up tired. This is even when they report longer sleep sessions. Fibromyalgia often induces disrupted sleep and patients often report sleep disorders like Sleep Apnea, chronic fatigue syndrome symptoms, and Restless Legs Syndrome.

Cognitive Difficulties:

This symptom is often termed as “Fibro Fog” which impairs one’s ability to pay attention, have focus, as well as concentrate over the mental tasks.

Body Stiffness:

Normally, as you wake up from sleep, your body feels a bit stiff as vital processes tend to work slowly when you sleep. This is because of reduced blood flow in different parts of the body. However, fibromyalgia causes prolonged body stiffness due to the consistent pain. You can experience a longer than average persistence of body pain and muscle stiffness. You can also experience myofascial pain syndrome which is a painful condition affecting the connective tissues in your body.

Headaches:

When fibromyalgia takes over your body, you might also experience constant headaches.

Other symptoms are:

• Cold/Flu Symptoms
• Breathing Issues
• Anxiety and Depression
• Nausea
• Vision Problems
• Urinary and Pelvic Problems
• Dizziness
• Weight Gain
• Skin Problems

This issue also co-exists with painful conditions like:

• IBS or Irritable Bowel Syndrome
• Migraine or Other Variants of Headaches
• Temporomandibular Joint Disorders
• Interstitial Cystitis/Painful Bladder Syndrome

Home Remedies

While medications can do you a lot well, Fibromyalgia also requires home treatment to address the issue properly. Here are some of the popular home remedies you can opt for:

1-Adequate Sleep:

Getting adequate sleep is important for the management of fibromyalgia symptoms. Being well-rested allows one to combat chronic fatigue which is a popular symptom of this condition. The best ways to get good sleep and avoid chronic fatigue syndromeinclude:

• Minimize your daytime naps
• Go to bed & wake up at the same time every day
• Limit light & noises during bedtime
• Avoid any screen time prior to sleeping
• Leave 2 to 3 hours between your meal and bedtime
• Avoid coffee or alcohol before you go to sleep

2-Exercise:

Many people suffering from fibromyalgia have a difficult time exercising initially. However, keeping up the patience and dealing with pain can help you a lot over time. People suffering from fibromyalgia should talk to the doctor before starting any exercise regime. This ensures that you practice something your body can handle while catering ample health benefits.

3-Dietary Supplements:

Opting for a well-balanced diet paired with exercise and reduced use of alcohol, caffeine, illegal drugs, or nicotine products can help in stress reduction with improved mood. You can add food items rich in magnesium, soy, Vitamin D, SAMe, and Creatine to experience pain reduction. Many patients also confirm that the use of topical products with capsaicin helps in the reduction of pain as it generates heat to treat fibromyalgia. However, no scientific research has been catered to confirm this method.

4-Acupuncture:

Acupuncture has been used in the traditional Chinese medication where small, thin needles are inserted to specific body parts in order to trigger proper blood flow and removal of toxins from the body. Acupuncture has also been known to bring down the stiffness and pain experienced with fibromyalgia.

5-Massage:

Massage is great for people who suffer from joint and muscle soreness. It involves gentle manipulation all over the body to increase the motion range, promote relaxation, reduce stress, as well as relieve pain.

Precautions

Pain paired with a lack of proper sleep that comes with fibromyalgia interferes with the ability to function properly. It can ail you all day long. The frustration associated with fibromyalgia extends further given the misunderstandings associated with the disease. It can result in health-based anxiety and depression.

• Patients with co-existing conditions like fatigue, IBS, anxiety, depression, etc should get attention sooner from a doctor.
• People with fibromyalgia should be provided pre-operative pain medication if surgery is absolutely necessary.
• Avoid food items that aggravate the condition or causes inflammation in the body.
• People suffering from fibromyalgia are 3 times more likely to suffer from major depression which makes it necessary for patients to seek treatment of fibromyalgia and timely screening.

Treatment

When suffering from fibromyalgia, it is important that you get in touch with your medical practitioner. Fibromyalgia can be pretty difficult when it comes to proper management. Seeking proper treatment is the key to a pain-free and relaxed life. Naturopathic treatments such as botanical medicine, nutritional therapies, acupuncture, and physiotherapy are effective at treating some conditions, such as fibromyalgia, migraine headaches, depression, asthma, hypertension, and type II diabetes.

Generic treatment options include:

• Acupuncture
• Active Exercise Routine
• Therapy for Behaviour Modification
• Psychotherapy
• Massage
• Chiropractic Care
• Physical Therapy
• Antidepressants with Low Dosage

Apart from these treatment options, your doctor might recommend the use of these drugs after a fibromyalgia test for disease confirmation.

• OTC Pain Relievers
• NSAIDs
• Antidepressants like Cymbalta, Duloxetine, Savella, and Milnacipran
• Anti-Seizure Drugs like Gabapentin, Neurontin, Pregabalin, and Lyrica

Before you start the medications, make sure you inform your doctor of any other medications you have been taking in order to avoid any interactions.

Apart from these front-line treatments, you should incorporate the following methods for fibromyalgia treatment:

• Exercise
• Acupuncture
• Therapy for Behaviour Modification

Conclusion

So, if you recently received a diagnosis of fibromyalgia, it is important that you stop ignoring and start acting. Pain can be emotionally and physically draining. Herbal treatment options paired with modern medications can cater to the best benefits for dealing with the symptoms of fibromyalgia. Get rid of that long-term pain as you invest in a good-quality life free from stress and exhaustion.