Fibromyalgia Introduction Series by Lotus Spring Acupuncture & Wellness Inc.
Fibromyalgia is different. We cannot treat it like we treat other aches and pains but yet still both health professionals and patients do. The most important aspect of recovering from fibromyalgia is UNDERSTANDING the large context of the condition and how it often is incorrectly handled. This is the introduction of more blogs/articles to come that will dive deeper into the subject and real results.
In the past, some healthcare providers even questioned whether fibromyalgia was real. Today, it’s far better understood. Healthcare providers don’t fully understand what causes the chronic widespread nature of fibromyalgia pain. One theory is that the brain lowers the absolute threshold. Sensations that weren’t painful before become very painful over time. Another theory is that the nerves overreact to pain signals, where they become more sensitive, to the purpose where they cause unnecessary or exaggerated pain. However, in many professional circumstances fibromyalgia is often treated as a “no man’s land quote of diagnosis. Because of this many people who have fatigue and tender points don’t have fibromyalgia at all. Some of these symptoms are rare signs of unrelated diseases that eventually present with some of the same symptoms as fibromyalgia.
Fibromyalgia causes what is now mentioned as “regions of pain.” A number of these regions overlap with what was previously mentioned as areas of tenderness called “trigger points” or “tender points.” In the past, people were diagnosed with fibromyalgia if they had widespread pain and tenderness in a minimum of 11 out of 18 specific trigger points around their bodies. Healthcare providers would check to ascertain what percentage of those points were painful by pressing firmly on them. This method is still common and an effective way to determine the severity and diagnosis of fibromyalgia. The most common trigger points professionals would look for would be located at the top of the back, tops of the shoulders and neck, upper chest, hips, knees, outer elbows, and other major joints in the body. For the foremost part, trigger points are no longer a neighborhood of the diagnostic process. Instead, healthcare providers will consider a diagnosis of fibromyalgia if you’ve experienced musculoskeletal pain in 4 out of the 5 regions of pain outlined within the 2016 revisions to the fibromyalgia diagnostic criteria.
In the end we now know fibromyalgia is caused by long-term stress, poor diet, and irregular sleep cycles. This creates a combination of gut dysbiosis (Poor gut flora balance) improper distribution of gasotransmitters such as nitric oxide, and hormonal and balances leading to chronic inflammation. It is a very similar etiology that has chronic dictates retro, multiple chemical sensitivity, and PTSD. With proper medications (prescribed natural remedies), therapy, and lifestyle changes can assist you to manage your symptoms and to enhance your quality of life to the point that it’s hardly noticeable! Overall, fibromyalgia may be a long-term (chronic) condition, but with consistent efforts to be on top of your condition, it’ll be much more manageable than anything you’ve tried before. Trust us, we have the results to prove the methods to our madness. As we continue our stream of articles we’ll next go over the eight main causes of fibromyalgia.
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Resources:
https://www.healthline.com/health/fibromyalgia
“The Fibro Bible” by Andrew Miles, DOM and XUELAN QIU, PhD
