Fibromyalgia: Facts That Are Better Not Ignored

A common tendency lies in most of us to overlook certain symptoms that leads towards Fibromyalgia. Chronic pain of a widespread nature is the foremost symptom that characterizes this arthritis-related condition. Accompanied by that is acute pain and stiffness of joints, musculoskeletal aches, fatigue, tissue tenderness, impairment of cognitive abilities and sleep disturbances. Neck, shoulders, back, hands and the pelvic girdles are common body regions affected, which may however spread to certain other areas too.

Common symptoms of Fibromyalgia

As stressed earlier, Fibromyalgia symptoms include fatigue, numbness of joints and muscles, increased pain sensitivity, headaches, dizziness, loss of concentration, memory and other cognitive abilities, difficulty in sleeping and the like.
In certain cases, there can be other issues like muscle knots or cramping, morning stiffness, brain fog or depression, irritable bowel syndrome and general anger and frustration.

Factors leading to Fibromyalgia

The exact cause of Fibromyalgia is difficult to ascertain. Often considered as a form of arthritis but it is not exactly so. Inflammation or joint, tissue and muscle damages are not common in this case. However, the similarity lies in the extreme pain and that can eventually cause the affected person to slow down his or her regular activities.
This is more of a rheumatic condition that is much deeper and multi-factorial. A combination of pain pathways, immune system anomalies and hormonal imbalance can result in this state. In fact, most patients have been studied and the presence of Fibromyalgia symptoms has been more or less similar.

Treating Fibromyalgia

Fibromyalgia treatment is difficult, for the diagnosis process itself is not an easy task. The challenge lies in finding the right doctor and not just a physician or rheumatologist who claims to treat this condition. The treatment sometimes requires a team effort, like the doctor, physical therapist and other health professionals who can get to the root problem and devise effective treatment measures.

For Fibromyalgia treatment, the best would be a combination of

• Medication: Prescribed by health experts like painkillers, antidepressants.
• Certain therapies: Like counseling sessions, swimming or hydrotherapy and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT).
• Lifestyle modifications: Proper techniques of relaxation and exercise regimen must be included to reduce the pain significantly.

In addition to these, Fibromyalgia can be treated if the patient decides to get adequate sleep, eat well, include yoga and exercises in his or her daily schedule and stick to essential changes.