Fibromyalgia – Treatments, Remedies, Alternative Therapy

Since the fibromyalgia pain is very similar to pain associated with arthritis, hypothyroidism and polymyalgia rheumatica, tests are performed to rule out the presence of these problems and confirm presence of fibromyalgia.

Pain should have lasted more than three months, experienced on all four quadrants of the body and palpable at eleven out of eighteen fibromyalgia trigger points in the body to qualify as fibromyalgia.

Fibromyalgia treatments are there to reduce the symptoms through prescription medication, exercises, education and psychotherapy. There is no fibromyalgia cure in sight which anyone would advocate.

Lyrica and Provigil for Fibromyalgia are two well known fibromyalgia medications. Alternative and complementary medications are analgesics, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, COS-2 inhibitors, antidepressants, anti-seizure medications, dopamine agonists and serotonin supplements.

Analgesics help reduce pain and stiffness in the muscles. Anti depressants help reduce depression and improve sleep. Anti-seizure drugs help control muscle spasms.

Physiotherapy and stretching exercises are prescribed to help maintain muscle and also reduce pain. This is followed by counselling, which is done to help one deal with mental stress which also causes fibromyalgia.

Lifestyle and home remedies:

Mild exercises performed as a daily routine will actually reduce the muscle pain. Exercises enhance blood circulation and relieve muscle pain. Likewise they also give relief from mental stress, a cause of fibromyalgia.

Going to bed at regular time, avoiding day time naps, not consuming anything a few hours before bed, making the bed and bedroom as comfortable as possible and finally going to bed without worries can give one a good night’s sleep.

One needs to pace the workload of the day well with intermittent rest periods. Despite the rest intervals work will get done effectively and efficiently. Work throughput and rewards from work will increase. Happiness ensues, reducing stress and reducing fibromyalgia too.

Eating healthy with a 30:30:40 ratios of carbohydrate, fat and protein is advocated. There is no specific fibromyalgia diet. But some food constituents have been found to trigger muscle pain like caffeine, alcohol, fatty dairy products, acidic foods, citric foods, white flour and white sugar.

Alternative treatments:

Meditation helps relieving the mind of stress and calms it. It increases the pain bearing threshold of the body. It helps one perceive the pain less and becoming immune to pain.

Yogic exercises are very mild exercises ideal for those who are already having muscle pain. It is an exercise of both body and mind. So mind is also de-stressed along with the body.

Fine needles are used to prick the human body at specific locations up to varied depths to bring about relief for specific problems. The idea behind acupuncture is to draw blood to the site of prick and along with it the essential nutrients to heal the affliction.

Chiropractors manipulate the spine at different points at different angles and differing pressures to bring about a specific effect to treat the problem at hand. Some stretching and massage is also given.

Massages helps the body release its natural pain killers and subsidise the pain in the muscles. Massages help bring in nutrients to the site of pain through improved blood circulation. This heals the muscles faster and brings about fibromyalgia relief.

Fibromyalgia support groups provide a lot of information on the medical condition. One may keep oneself abreast of happenings in this domain and make use of the latest available treatments.

The afflicted may be encouraged to join a group of people with similar affliction. The sense of belonging and sharing of coping strategies with the peers brings a renewed sense of purpose, the purpose of overcoming fibromyalgia.