Understanding Fibromyalgia

Fibromyalgia, also called fibromyalgia syndrome, is a long-term condition which causes pain all over the body.

Fibromyalgia causes widespread pain and extreme tiredness. People with fibromyalgia may also have:

• difficulty sleeping
• headaches 
• irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
• muscle stiffness 

Read more information about the symptoms of fibromyalgia.

 

 What causes fibromyalgia?

 

The exact causes are not known, but there are certain changes in the way the body functions which have been noticed in people with fibromyalgia, including:

• disturbed pain messages
• low levels of hormones
• sleep problems

However, it is not clear what causes these changes in the first place and how they lead to fibromyalgia.

Read more about the causes of fibromyalgia. 

Who is affected?

It is estimated that fibromyalgia affects nearly 1 in 20 people worldwide. In England and Wales, there could be up to 1.76 million adults with the condition.

Anyone can develop fibromyalgia, although it affects more women than men. In most cases, fibromyalgia develops between 30 and 60 years of age, but it can occur in people of any age, including children and the elderly.

Fibromyalgia can be a difficult condition to diagnose because there is no specific test and the symptoms can be similar to those of other conditions. Diagnosis is usually based on your symptoms and tests to rule out other conditions.

Read more information about diagnosing fibromyalgia.

 

How is fibromyalgia treated?

 

There is currently no cure for fibromyalgia. Symptoms are usually permanent, although they can vary in severity. However, there are a number of treatments that may ease symptoms and make the condition easier to live with. Treatment tends to be a combination of:

• medicines – such as antidepressants and painkillers
• talking therapies – such as counselling
• lifestyle changes – such as better sleeping habits and relaxation

In particular, exercise has been found to have a number of important benefits for people with fibromyalgia, including helping to reduce pain. 

Read more information about treating fibromyalgia and advice on self-help for fibromyalgia.

Treatment

The goal of treatment is to help relieve pain and other symptoms, and to help a person cope with the symptoms.

The first type of treatment may involve:

• Physical therapy
• Exercise and fitness program
• Stress-relief methods, including light massage and relaxation techniques
• swimming, sitting or exercising in a heated pool or warm water
• an individually tailored exercise programme (see Fibromyalgia - self-help for more information)
• relaxation techniques (see Fibromyalgia - self-help for more information)  

If these treatments do not work, your doctor may prescribe an antidepressant or muscle relaxant. The goal of medication is to improve sleep and pain tolerance. Medicine should be used along with exercise and behavior therapy. Duloxetine (Cymbalta), pregabalin (Lyrica), and milnacipran (Savella) are medications that are approved specifically for treating fibromyalgia.

However, many other drugs are also used to treat the condition, including:

• Anti-seizure drugs
• Other antidepressants
• Muscle relaxants
• Pain relievers
• Sleeping aids

Cognitive-behavioral therapy is an important part of treatment. This therapy helps you learn how to:

• Deal with negative thoughts
• Keep a diary of pain and symptoms
• Recognize what makes your symptoms worse
• Seek out enjoyable activities
• Set limits 

Psychotherapy - a talking therapy that helps you understand and deal with your thoughts   
 and feelings 

Hypnotherapy - Suggestions of pain relief given under hypnosis were even more effective at decreasing pain sensation and the amount of stimulation of pain areas in the brain. All this goes to show that your ability to affect the outcome of your illness should not be underrated. In fact, a large part of the Art of Medicine is working with you to mobilize your own internal healing abilities.

That medicine has derisively called your ability to affect healing the "placebo effect," suggesting that only the doctor has the power to help you—and that anything you do on your own shows you are crazy—shows how aggressively the medical establishment works to disempower you. But you do have the ability to often heal yourself given good information. As it is said "Knowledge is Power!" 

Physiotherapy - techniques such as massage are used to improve physical problems,    
                          such as muscle stiffness or weakness 

Psychological support - any kind of counselling or support group that helps you deal with the issues caused by fibromyalgia  

Support groups may also be helpful.

Other recommendations include:

• Eat a well-balanced diet
• Avoid caffeine
• Practice good sleep routines to improve quality of sleep (See: Sleeping difficulty)
• Acupressure and acunpuncture

Severe cases of fibromyalgia may require a referral to a pain clinic.

Expectations (prognosis)

Fibromyalgia is a long-term disorder. Sometimes, the symptoms improve. Other times, the pain may get worse and continue for months or years.

Calling your health care provider Call your health-care provider if you have symptoms of fibromyalgia.

Myofascial Release Therapy is a treatment option that many people are not aware of. It is a hands-on type of therapy that is particularly effective for fibromyalgia, myofascial pain syndrome, and can be quite helpful for many other types of chronic pain as well.

What It Is
 
To understand what Myofascial Release Therapy is, it's important to know what fascia is.  Fascia is the connective tissue that surrounds, supports and stabilizes every muscle, bone, organ, nerve, blood vessel and cell in the body.  It forms a continuous web from head to toe.  Think of a piece of raw chicken.  Between the skin and the meat you'll find a layer of thin white tissue – that is the fascia.  

The fascia is normally fluid and moves easily, but when there is an injury, the fascia constricts to protect the injured area.  Usually when the injury heals, the fascia relaxes and goes back to its normal state.  However, sometimes it can get bound up and create a three-dimensional pull or drag throughout the whole body.  

Therefore, a fascial strain in one area of the body can cause pain in multiple other areas.  This often happens with a chronic pain disorder like fibromyalgia.  Although the original restriction may have begun in one part of the body, the pull from that one restriction can cause connected tissues to become constricted, eventually spreading throughout the body.  



How It Works

Myofascial Release Therapy applies very gentle sustained pressure to various parts of the body in order  to release the fascia so it can once again move fluidly.  A Myofascial Release Therapy session will often begin with what is called tractioning.   The therapist may lift your legs slightly by your heels, holding them with a sustained gentle pull for several minutes.  This is generally felt into the low back, and when held long enough, will cause the fascia to  begin to release all the way into the shoulders and neck.  A similar type of traction may then be applied to your neck and shoulders as well.  Because fascia is three-dimensional, the effects of Myofascial Release Therapy techniques will usually be felt wherever the fascia is most constricted.  

Following the tractioning, the therapist will begin gently moving the skin back and forth on various parts of the body (i.e., back, shoulders, hips) to identify the fascial restrictions.  When a restriction is located, a cross-hand technique of gentle manipulation is applied to release it.  Since fascia is layered and must be released in layers, this cross-hand release technique is used to release restrictions in progressive layers.  

When the fascia has been restricted for a long time, as is usually the case with fibromyalgia patients, it may take several weekly therapy sessions before the fascia holds the release long term.  

Source:

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/complementary-medicine/200810/hypnosis-and-fibromyalgia

http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Fibromyalgia/Pages/Introduction.aspx

http://www.healthcentral.com/chronic-pain/fibromyalgia-8169-1.html?ic=506048

http://www.healthcentral.com/chronic-pain/fibromyalgia-285944-5.html