A detailed guide to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), including its symptoms, causes, and effective treatment strategies to improve energy and well-being.
Our nervous system uses electrical signals to communicate with muscles throughout our body. As electrical currents can be measured in areas like our homes, we can also measure electrical activity in our muscles and nerves.
Electromyography (EMG) and nerve conduction studies measure the electrical signals sent through our nerves and muscles. As you might anticipate, doctors can identify disruptions in these signals that may cause nerve or muscular pain and discomfort.
While an EMG test focuses on the electrical activity in your muscles, a nerve conduction study measures the speed and strength of electrical signals in your nerves. Both tests provide a broad picture of your body’s electrical traffic and whether any disruptors indicate a condition or disorder causing your pain.
Those who need EMG and nerve conduction tests are experiencing symptoms that may include muscle weakness, tingling or numbness, cramps, spasms, twitching, and even muscle paralysis.
Besides some minor pain, cramping, and even a tingling sensation, EMG and nerve conduction studies are minimally invasive. An EMG test will require inserting a needle electrode into your muscle. In contrast, nerve conduction studies simply tape or paste stimulating electrodes to your muscles and send a mild electrical pulse throughout your body.
An EMG detects damage to your nervous system by inserting a thin electrode needle into your muscle while monitoring electrical activity and proceeding with results on an oscilloscope (monitor). You will be asked to contract or relax your muscles throughout the procedure.
If your EMG reading is abnormal, your electrical activity will consist of odd wave shapes and patterns. Your body produces a baseline electrical current throughout, which becomes abnormal during muscle contraction.
Abnormal EMG results are usually signs of nerve dysfunction, muscle injury, and muscle disorders, including:
Considering doctors will need easy access to all your muscles in the test area, you should wear loose, comfortable clothing, especially if you need to switch to a hospital gown.
Since electrodes will also be attached to the surface of your skin for emitting electrical current, keep your skin clean and avoid using lotions, body creams, perfume, or cologne for a couple of days before your test.
Let your healthcare provider know if you have a pacemaker or cardiac defibrillator. There will need to be special accommodations made for your particular procedure.
An EMG test may take 30 to 60 minutes to complete, whereas a nerve conduction test may take 15 minutes to more than an hour, depending on the scope of your test.
With incredible advancements in medical technology, you now have more options to relieve back pain than ever before. Minimally invasive spine surgery offers effective treatment that relieves pressure and pain, proving a safer and quicker alternative to open-back surgery.
What is Considered Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery?
Minimally invasive spine surgery targets the spinal column (the backbone) and spinal cord with endoscopic methods using small incisions to provide quick relief for varying back issues.
Unlike traditional open spine surgery, where your surgeon typically makes a 5 to 6-inch incision, minimally invasive spine surgery only requires an incision that’s ½ an inch long.
It also requires less downtime compared to traditional spine surgery; Due to the surgery being less invasive, you’ll be able to get home sooner and have a less painful and much quicker recovery.
Endoscopic spinal surgery is one of the more common names for minimally invasive surgeries for back pain. It is common to use procedures to treat torn or herniated discs in the spinal canal and relieve leg pain and chronic lower back pain.
These procedures can also create minimally invasive variants of otherwise traditional spine surgeries. For example, a lumbar laminectomy involves less post-recovery pain and blood loss than its traditional form.
For those who suffer from spinal stenosis, this treatment offers relief from its consequent pain and pressure. Due to spinal column narrowing, there is increased pressure on the nerves inside. Spinal stenosis decompression releases this built-up pressure by opening the canals where the spinal cord and nerves pass through.
This procedure is also known as vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty. It is common in treating compression fractures caused by osteoporosis and other similar conditions.
A herniated disc causes compression on the nerve roots in the spinal column or on the actual spinal cord. This procedure removes the disc and gets rid of the painful pressure.
A damaged spinal disc causes pain, numbness, and weakness. Rather than just removing it, you can have it replaced with an artificial disc to restore your spinal cord’s strength, movement, and height.
Spinal canal enlargement relieves pain and pressure in the back by enlarging the hole where a disc is “bulging” and causing pain to the nerve root. This procedure may also be used for untreated compression, causing the spinal cord to become thicker, resulting in painful pressure.
Spinal fusion was originally a traditional surgery but now offers a minimally invasive procedure. With two small incisions, the procedure can be accomplished much quicker while taking less time to recover. Its primary focus is treating scoliosis symptoms: spinal deformity and instability.
If you suffer from one or more of these back problems and haven’t found a nonsurgical treatment that’s helped, you might be a candidate for minimally invasive spine surgery.
What are the Advantages of Minimally Invasive Surgery?
Minimally invasive spinal surgery offers a variety of advantages that make it a great option before considering traditional open-back surgery. Tools used in procedures like a tubular retractor gives surgeons access to areas of the spine without needing to make extra incisions in your muscle.
Less long and short-term health risks; due to the procedure making smaller incisions and not causing great ruptures to the muscle tissue, it offers fewer risk factors
How Long Does it Take to Recover from Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery?
Individuals who undergo minimally invasive spine surgery commonly return to regular activities and daily life within six weeks post-operation. Recovery time varies from patient to patient, but the general full recovery is within this six-week range. In comparison, invasive spine surgery can take up to three to four months (12-16 weeks) for a full recovery.
What is the Success Rate of Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery?
Patient feedback, medical studies, and personal testimonies have provided evidence of a high success rate for minimally invasive spine surgery. Below are several pieces reflecting the overall positive response.
A Feedback report from the University of Utah found that approximately 80 to 90 percent of patients experienced less pain and better mobility after minimally invasive spine surgery.
Likewise, a National Library of Medicine study found that minimally invasive lumbar spine surgery is safe and highly effective in the elderly population.
According to the Newport Orthopedic Institute, out of 22 young athletes undergoing minimally invasive fusions for lumbar spondylolisthesis, 82% returned to active participation in football, soccer, cricket, and golf.
A summary of the SPORT study (Spinal Outcomes Research Trial) performed by the North American Spine Society showed that between 85% and 100% of athletes could return to their pre-surgery level in a professional sport after a minimally invasive lumbar discectomy.
The knee is the largest joint in the body, where the thighbone (femur), shinbone (tibia), and kneecap (patella) connect. It also includes cartilage, ligaments, menisci, and tendons. When everything is working as it should, the knee joint functions properly – allowing for free movement without pain. However, if any part of the knee joint is not working well, pain, inflammation, and other symptoms can make it difficult to walk and participate in daily activities.
Chronic knee pain is common. It can be the long-term result of an injury, such as when someone falls or receives a blow to the knee. However, it is most often caused by everyday wear and tear, overuse, or by certain medical conditions. Sources of chronic knee pain include:
Patellofemoral syndrome (sometimes called “runner’s knee” or “jumper’s knee”)
Patients who experience knee pain often have other symptoms, such as swelling/stiffness, redness/warmth to the touch, weakness, instability, popping noises when bending, or inability to straighten the knee. If you cannot bear any weight on your knee or are unable to extend/flex your knee, contact your doctor or pain management specialist. Long-term knee pain can lead to permanent damage to the knee and loss of function.
Physical therapy to rehabilitate the knee and prevent future injuries and medication therapy are often the first steps in treating chronic knee pain. If there is no sign of improvement or reduced pain, your pain specialist may recommend other treatment options. Some other effective minimally invasive techniques are injections including corticosteroids (to reduce inflammation) and hyaluronic acid (to help cushion and lubricate the moving parts within the knee). If conservative therapies do not improve a patient’s condition within six months, surgery may become an option. Arthroscopic surgery, partial knee replacement surgery, and total knee replacement surgery are the three most common kinds of surgeries to improve knee pain.
When it comes to keeping your body strong and healthy, you’re encouraged to eat well, get adequate sleep, and, of course, exercise regularly. But this is a lot easier said than done when you’re experiencing ongoing pain.
Knee pain can be excruciating, making even the lightest workouts difficult. But what exactly is causing this pain? And are there ways to relieve it and get back to living actively without pain?
Technically called Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome, a runner’s knee is when you have pain in front of, around, or behind your kneecap when performing any activity requiring you to bend your knee, including walking, getting up, squatting, running, etc. You might even notice increased pain when walking downstairs or downhill.
Other symptoms might include rubbing, grinding, or clicking when bending and straightening your knee and a tender kneecap.
Ultimately, no. If you’re experiencing knee pain after exercising, you need to rest it until the pain dissipates. If it returns during use again, then you’ve likely got a bigger problem that self-care and home remedies won’t resolve.
Don’t rush! You’ll know you’re ready to get back out there if:
You bend and straighten your knee without pain
Your knee is painless when walking, jogging, sprinting, jumping, etc.
There are plenty of ways to treat your knee pain after running:
Rest It. Don’t make your knee problem worse by using it before it’s ready. Give your knee a rest and avoid any activity that’ll strain it, including walking if you must.
Ice It. Fight back against the pain and swelling with 20-30 minute icing sessions every few hours for up to 3 days.
Wrap It. Give your knee some support with elastic bandaging, patellar straps, or sleeves.
Elevate It. Take some pressure off by elevating your leg with a pillow when sitting or lying down.
Take NSAIDs. If you need a little extra help for staving off high-level pain, the likes of ibuprofen or naproxen are options for temporary pain relief. But be careful as NSAIDs may have side effects as well as risks. Use as directed and always consult your doctor with any questions before use.
Stretch and Strengthen. Strengthen the muscles and ligaments supporting your knee such as the quadriceps. Consult your doctor for physical therapy if you are considering this option.
Arch Supports or Orthotics. These will help correct your foot positioning, which could very well cause knee pain.
How Do I Stop My Inner Knee from Hurting When I Run?
Some proactive measures you can take to prevent Runner’s Knee include:
If resting your knee and other methods aren’t enough to resolve your runner’s knee pain, you may have damaged cartilage or a displaced kneecap, which may require surgery.
Cortisone joint injections can temporarily alleviate knee pain as it recovers, but it’s important to consider more permanent options to live comfortably long term.
I have been turned down on my income protection claim because of a report commissioned by my insurance company from a company doing CPAD (chronic pain abilities determination). The tests were conducted by an osteopath who is also a functional capacity assessor. I have been unable to locate details of any clinical trials on CPAD, and have found no evidence that the test has been medically proven nor that a CPAD assessment has been published in a peer-reviewed medical journal. Is CPAD medically proven?
I have not come across CPAD, but the clue to this is that the osteopath is a functional capacity assessor. The tests that you have had to undergo sound very much like functional capacity assessments.
These assessments are notorious among fibromyalgia sufferers. They are often very technical, complex, and detailed to the point where the reports are extremely hard to understand. The crucial point is that such assessments have very little relevance to fibromyalgia sufferers. They may well be extremely useful in evaluating functional impairment in those with structural musculoskeletal damage, but fibromyalgia sufferers will generally have entirely normal musculoskeletal structures. Their difficulties are the constant symptoms of pain, stiffness, and feelings of weakness.
Therefore, fibromyalgia sufferers may well be able to carry out many of the tasks, slowly and in pain as a one-off activity, but that is very unlikely to translate into being able to do these normal daily tasks on a regular and sustained basis. In other words, these types of tests are not a fair reflection of the functional impairment of the fibromyalgia sufferer. It is also true to say that on the day of the assessment the fibromyalgia sufferer may have fewer symptoms than on other days.
My advice is to try to avoid undergoing these assessments wherever possible. Insurers should be told that they are simply not meant for fibromyalgia sufferers. If the insurer insists, however, the assessments may have to be done, but it is then always advisable to have a report from a consultant rheumatologist who would be able to comment on your ability to sustain activity and who is a “bigger hitter” than the osteopath or similar who carries out the functional capacity evaluations.
Ronty Rhodes Solicitors recently represented Mrs. Adams who suffers from Fibromyalgia. She was dismissed on the grounds of ill health in July 2011 but received her last sick pay in March 2011. She submitted an application for Ill Health Retirement in August 2011 and the application was rejected in September 2011.
Mrs. Adams came to us in January 2013 to instruct us to appeal against the decision on Teachers’ Pensions in January 2013.
We reviewed the various medical evidence, reverted to some of the experts, and prepared a full and comprehensive Letter of Appeal in February 2013. The appeal was successful in March 2013 with the application for Ill Health Retirement being accepted.
If you are making a large claim for damages secret filming of you is given. It is very likely that the other side will try to obtain covert footage of you at some stage during your litigation. The purpose of the surveillance evidence is to try to catch you by showing you doing something that you have previously said you cannot do. Surveillance evidence is a powerful tool in the Defendant’s armory and sometimes it can have a devastating effect on a claim. If a claimant is caught lying, not only do they face the prospect of causing irreparable damage to their damages claim but, in some cases, they may also face the prospect of proceedings for contempt of court with the possibility of a prison sentence. We cannot (and would not wish to) help Claimants who are lying, but that is a tiny minority. In most cases, the situation is much greyer than that and the claimant may be entirely honest.
Surveillance operatives will often attempt to obtain surveillance over a period of a few days. They will often turn up at your home address early in the morning and follow you throughout the day. You can be videoed in any public place such as a supermarket, GP surgery, or shopping center. There may be more than one surveillance operative involved in the operation. The Defendants will frequently “sit” on the surveillance evidence and choose to deploy it at the point in your case when they think it will cause maximum damage. The best way to counter the effect of any surveillance is to take steps before the surveillance occurs to make your claim “surveillance–proof”. This is a specialist area that requires very careful handling by your solicitor.
After the surveillance footage has been disclosed there is still much that can be done by a skillful solicitor. It may be necessary to involve expertise from specialist barristers and technology-type experts. In some cases, it may be possible to object to the Defendants relying on their surveillance evidence.
At Ronty RhodesSolicitors we are uniquely equipped to deal with difficulties arising out of surveillance evidence. This is because given the nature of our work a very high proportion of our clients are videoed. We have thus built up the expertise and contacts to give you the best chance of negating the effect of this sort of evidence.
If you are involved in a large claim and suspect that you are being videoed please contact us sooner rather than later. It is far better to make a claim “surveillance–proof” at an early stage than to try to undo the damage later.
At first, my illnesses would require a little more rest while away. Because I pushed through pain and fatigue in hopes of keeping up with my family, I always returned home feeling like death. It was not unusual for my body to need days, weeks, and a few times months to recover from a week away from home.
Through the years I have not only made changes to how I address and relieve my chronic pain, but I have made changes to how I vacation too!
Here are a few tips to help you better enjoy your summer vacation!
Do a little research. Locate pharmacies, hospitals, and urgent care facilities that are in close proximity to your hotel. Then verify that they accept your health insurance.
Speaking of health insurance, check with your provider to see what your coverage is while in a different state or country.
Have your most important medicalinformation handy in case of an emergency. Click here to download my free Emergency Wallet Card. Perfect for when you are not able to inform emergency personnel of your health history or allergies. Always inform your traveling companions of their whereabouts so they can access them easily in case of an emergency.
I do not have White Coat Syndrome, where patients experience a higher blood pressure reading when at the doctor’s office. My fear of doctors goes way beyond that.
My fears stem from incompetent care. Not from just one doctor or surgeon and I am talking double digits!!!
My medical PTSD is the result of being ignored, dismissed, having more than one surgeon make life-lasting errors, and many post-op errors that will haunt me for life.
In case that is not enough of an explanation, here is a list of some of the reasons I fear doctors, hospitals, and test results.
Not one test ran in the emergency room indicated that my appendix was about to burst. I spent 7 hours crying from pain and being told that they can’t see a reason to give me more pain medication. It wasn’t until a shift change that the real problem was discovered. The new doctor pressed on my appendix, my body bounced off the table, and he said it’s her appendix. He then prepped me for surgery. My appendix could have burst inside had I not made it through a shift change.
Not one scan showed the giant cyst that was pulling my uterus, left ovary and fallopian tube, and bladder to my sidewall. This too was discovered in surgery.
Not one scan gave the surgeons I begged to help me after my hysterectomy a clue to the horror show that was taking place in my abdomen. A large, infected piece of my fallopian tube was never seen, nor were the adhesions that were strangling my bowels.
I experienced something that I thought would never happen to me prior to the second surgery performed to fix my botched hysterectomy.
The surgeon was reading my test results when he mentioned that my appendix looked fantastic. I stopped him and said that there was something wrong because I had my appendix removed 3 years earlier!!
His response? He argued with me!!!! He insisted that the report was read correctly and that it was mine!
Thankfully, I had already adopted the policy of never seeing a doctor alone. Had my husband not been there to witness this conversation, I probably would have had a mental breakdown.
One would think he would have checked to see if the results were correct or even mine. Instead, he questioned whether I really had an appendectomy….. I told him he could call the hospital where it took place if he had any more questions.
Later after surgery, I asked the attending surgeon if he saw an appendix. He said NO! The validation joy didn’t last long. I soon began dealing with the fallout from the errors he made during surgery.
Think surgical errors aren’t common? Well, they appear to be with me!
Apparently, there is only one surgeon in Arizona and one in California who not only knows about but knows where to find the only sutures that I am either not allergic to or that are compatible with my body. Why? Because no matter how much detail I go into when explaining the type of sutures they need to use, I have had an issue with the sutures and my healing all because they chose not to listen to me or take me seriously.
My incisions became infected from staples and traditional sutures. The ones that look like regular sutures but are supposed to dissolve on their own don’t dissolve with my body’s makeup.
A surgeon was in a hurry one Friday afternoon and didn’t take the time to sew me up properly.
Even after I protested and screamed that something was wrong, (blood has never poured out of my incisions in the past) I was told that it was normal and sent home. Mind you, the nurses who told me this was normal refused to look under my gown to see what I was referring to.
The next day I called the hospital who told me no that it wasn’t normal and to get back there asap.
When I did, they discovered that he left a gaping hole where he had cut into my belly button. I have seen three-year-olds do a better job of sewing!!
It took two years for me to get a surgeon to listen to me.
I was told repeatedly that it wasn’t an OBGYN problem since I had the hysterectomy.
Some refused to look past my chronic illnesses on my chart. While others told me that I needed to see a psychiatrist. But the pain wasn’t in my head, it was real.
Finally, when surgeon number 21 agreed to go in and later shared his findings, I could finally breathe. I wasn’t crazy after all.
During the second surgery to address the errors of the hysterectomy, my surgeon severed a set of nerves between my vagina and left leg.
Later one of the top neurologists in Scottsdale, Arizona informed me that there are two sets of nerves in that area. One that is commonly nicked or severed and that had been researched and there were ways to fix it. The other is a set that is so rarely severed or nicked that there was no research on how to fix it.
Can you guess which one my surgeon severed? That is right! I have permanent nerve damage.
The sad part is that every single one of those surgeons is still practicing and has never been reprimanded by the state that the errors took place in. Why? Because my lawyers and the state attorneys were unable to find a peer to testify against them.
When I woke up from surgery without feeling in my left thigh, I quickly called over the recovery room nurse.
She said that it was normal considering that I had just had back surgery. Except that I didn’t have back surgery and there was nothing normal about my numb thigh or the blood pouring out of my belly.
This took place at a world-renown hospital in Arizona, the last place you’d ever expect to be treated so poorly, but yet it happened to me.
The recovery room staff refused to allow my husband into the recovery area, even though everyone else had someone with them.
My husband had my glasses, so I was blind, but I also couldn’t walk because of the nerve damage and was weak from losing more blood, otherwise, I would have left on my own.
I have had doctors scoff at my allergy list. One actually laughed out loud, that is until he ordered a liquid for me to consume before a test he was running and I had an allergic reaction in front of him after one sip.
Others just ignore my list, leaving it up to me to go through the ingredient list to make sure it doesn’t contain one of my allergens.
Nine times out of ten my prescriptions would have killed me had I not done the research.
Living with incurable chronic illnesses means often hearing the words, this is all we can do or there isn’t anything else we can do.
But that doesn’t make it easier knowing that there is only so much that can be done.
However, all we can do or we are going to blame it on one of your chronic conditions don’t cut it when vital organs are being attacked.
What’s really sad is that I am only taken seriously when I have been in a car or other type of accident. Anything that could remotely be blamed on fibromyalgia, psoriatic arthritis, psoriasis, etc. is…….
I could seriously fill a book about how terribly I have been treated by the medical profession.
With just what I shared in this post, are you able to understand why I am so fearful?
Do you see why I do not run to them until I am sure they cannot blame it on something else?
Can you understand why knowing I need to see someone ASAP for my latest bout of abdominal pain fills me with anxiety?
In 2016 I was told by a handful of surgeons that they agreed that adhesions were attacking my bowels. But each and everyone one of them refused to fight for me after their request to schedule surgery was denied by the head of my HMO’s gynecology and GI department. Their reasoning? The adhesions will return…..
Yes, they will return, but I won’t… especially if they are permitted to destroy what is left inside of me. On the other hand, I also fear that a surgeon will make a fatal error.
I got lucky and was able to find temporary relief outside of normal healthcare practices after being completely shut down in 2016. I just pray that I can get lucky one more time…
Many experts agree that the symptoms of fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome are so similar that for all intents and purposes they could be the same illness.
Fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome can both be chronic and long-term medical conditions – and they are both characterized by extreme levels of fatigue. In fact, both medical conditions are interwoven to the extent that it has sparked a series of opinions and differences among medical experts. Some in the medical community wonder whether CFS and fibromyalgia fatigue are two similar disorders with different forms of expression.
Clinical scientists have discovered that both conditions are common among middle-aged people. It also appears that both conditions affect more women than men. About 80-90 percent of those with fibromyalgia are females, while chronic fatigue syndrome is four times more likely to affect females than males.
Although fatigue and chronic pain are common symptoms of both chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia, there are still differences. Some of these include:
Causative Factor: Most people with fibromyalgia report that symptoms manifested after a traumatic experience such as emotional stress/shock or physical injury. Symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome commonly occur due to a viral infection such as influenza or mononucleosis but in some cases it also starts after experiencing a physical trauma too or some combination of both.
Inflammation: While there is no evidence of inflammation in people with fibromyalgia, patients with chronic fatigue syndrome often report inflammatory signs such as swollen glands and fever.
Sleep: Although people with fibromyalgia are affected by REM sleep, recent medical research in Japan has reported differences in sleep disturbances for both conditions.
Tender Points/Distinct Pain Spots: Tenderness is an important sign of fibromyalgia. On the other hand, medical experts have found no evidence that patients with chronic fatigue syndrome have any distinct pain sites or tender points. But, pain can affect chronic fatigue syndrome sufferers too to a usually lesser degree.
In the case of fibromyalgia vs chronic fatigue syndrome, although the symptoms overlap, there will be more emphasis on some symptoms than others depending on the illness.
Chronic fatigue sufferers mainly complain of debilitating fatigue as the main symptom, whilst those with fibromyalgia complain mostly of pain.
In my own case, I had chronic fatigue syndrome with the typical pain symptoms of fibromyalgia in the upper back, neck, and lower calves added in for good measure.
Using magnesiumoilto relax the muscles and reduce the pain was very helpful, particularly as at one stage due to my weakened gut health I was unable to take magnesium supplements orally. Using Epsom salts in baths and foot baths also helped release tight muscles and relieve pain.
On this site, you can read some of my many posts on chronic fatigue syndrome, but this particular post is all about fibromyalgia.
Fibromyalgia is a complex pain disorder that affects the musculoskeletal system, causing widespread chronic pain, aches, and tenderness to touch. Fibromyalgia pain can be located in only one part of the body at a time, moving from one area to the next, or pain may be felt all over the body at the same time.
A chronic pain disorder, fibromyalgia heightens the sense of pain in an individual and is accompanied by sleep issues, fatigue, digestive symptoms as well as mental and social problems.
More women are at the risk of developing fibromyalgia than are men. In fact, of the approximately 10 million Americans suffering from this condition, women are affected more than men with a ratio of about 8 to 2.
Although fibromyalgia is literally translated to mean pain in the tendons, ligaments, and muscles, this condition presents as much more than just pain, with a wide range of symptoms that vary from one person to another.
Symptoms of fibromyalgia usually begin after a surgery, physical trauma, accumulation of stressful events, or infection. Physical and emotional factors such as emotional stress and infections, such as parvovirus, hepatitis C, Lyme disease, and Epstein-Barr virus have been identified as stressors that trigger fibromyalgia.
In other cases, symptoms may build up gradually over time with no distinct triggering cause. Chronic pain associated with conditions such as systemic lupus erythematosus, ankylosing spondylitis, rheumatoid arthritis, and other medical conditions could act as triggering events for fibromyalgia.
Patients with these conditions are said to have “secondary fibromyalgia” since the autoimmune disease may trigger the condition.
The brain and spinal cord process pain sensations differently in those suffering from fibromyalgia. A clinical trial has shown the pain threshold is lower in those with fibromyalgia. The abnormalities that occur in the central nervous system amplify the pain processing threshold, causing the pain sensation to be more intense.
As a result, events that should not cause any pain may be painful for those suffering from fibromyalgia. For instance, having a massage that is generally considered a pleasant and relaxing experience by someone without fibromyalgia may be painful for those with fibromyalgia. In some people with fibromyalgia, even the touch of bedclothes on limbs can cause painful sensations.
Medical research has continued to provide evidence that fibromyalgia is a hereditary condition. Parents and children of those with the condition are eight times more likely to have fibromyalgia than those who do not have any relatives with the medical condition. A number of genes have been suspected to contribute to the possibility of contracting this condition.
Body-wide tenderness and widespread chronic pain are the notable features of fibromyalgia. This pain affects several areas of the body, significantly affecting the tendons, joints, and muscles.
Stiffness is common in the joint, as well. Although the pain generally affects the areas below and above the waist, localized regions such as the neck, lower back, or shoulders may be affected. People with fibromyalgia often feel flu-like symptoms, as though they hurt all over.
It is common for some sufferers to experience ‘flare–ups’ – situations where the chronic pain and other symptoms last for prolonged periods of time.
Another symptom of fibromyalgia is fatigue. It especially manifests upon waking up in the morning, but it may also be noticeable mid-afternoon. It is common for people to be awakened with a “light” feeling, even after sleeping all night. This feeling may be combined with multiple disturbances during the night, with difficulty getting back to sleep.
Although body-wide pain, sleeping difficulty, and fatigue are hallmarks of fibromyalgia, the illness is also associated with other symptoms such as disordered thinking. Patients have reported cognitive disturbances, brain fog, and difficulty with enough focus to complete set tasks.
Other symptoms may include headaches, abdominalpain, pelvic pain, heart palpitations, diarrhea, dry eyes and mouth, tingling and numbness in extremities, nausea, and weight gain.
Widespread tenderness is a common symptom, particularly affecting anatomic regions such as the back of the neck at the connection between the muscle and the skull. There are 18 such specific regions in the body, and they are known as fibromyalgia tender points.
In the past, clinical studies were only carried out on patients who had 11 out of the 18 tender points, but this approach has changed in recent years.
The person’s symptoms are considered during the tests and diagnosis for fibromyalgia. Symptoms such as widespread pain affecting the joints and muscles, in combination with sleeping difficulty and fatigue, would require tests for the condition. A thorough physical examination will be conducted by a medical professional in order to exclude any other illnesses that may manifest similar symptoms.
There are no widely accepted diagnostic criteria for fibromyalgia yet. Hence, any testing carried out is only done to exclude the possibility of other health conditions.
For instance, your doctor may want to exclude the possibility of conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, sleep apnea, lupus, and multiple sclerosis. Although this may not make sense to you, fibromyalgia is known to mimic other medical conditions.
In most cases, the fibromyalgia tender points feel tender upon palpation. However, some patients are not tender at these soft-tissue regions (tender points). Generally, it is more likely that females would be tender at the fibromyalgia tender points than their male counterparts.
Aside from the presence of tender points, a doctor with knowledge about fibromyalgia will consider the history of widespread pain. If the pain is present below and above the waist and at the left and right sides of the body, the doctor will now consider the duration of the pain. Chronic pain lasting more than three months is an indicator of the presence of fibromyalgia.
There is no specialty that manages or treats the disorder, but there are both medication-based and non-medication-based treatment procedures for fibromyalgia.
Medication-based procedures are designed to manage sleeplessness and pain symptoms. However, non-medication treatments are the cornerstone of the treatment procedure for fibromyalgia, and it includes exercise, stress reduction procedures, and education.
Education is crucial to the management of fibromyalgia. Fibromyalgia affects the body and mind. Usually, patients may have suffered the symptoms for years, causing anxiety without knowledge of the underlying cause of the symptoms.
Therefore, it is important that patients are educated about the symptoms, treatment procedures, sleep management, and the importance of ensuring the underlying causes are treated.
For instance, when a patient suffering from rheumatoid arthritis also has fibromyalgia, poor management of rheumatoid arthritis may worsen the symptoms of fibromyalgia.
An exercise program is also important in treating fibromyalgia. This program should include strengthening, stretching, and aerobic exercises. However, many fibromyalgia sufferers find it difficult to establish a consistent exercise program because they think their pain may worsen with exercise.
But this is not necessarily the case as several scientific studies have proven that a consistent exercise program, particularly aerobic exercises, can help in pain management, improve physical functions, and enhance a sense of well-being in the affected individual. However, it seems that aerobic exercise does not help with feelings of fatigue.
Starting slowly with low-impact aerobic exercises such as walking, swimming and cycling can help fibromyalgia sufferers. Some people have also found combining yoga with aerobic activities helpful for pain management.
Stress management is also essential for handling fibromyalgia symptoms since some of the symptoms may be triggered by stressful events. However, with a wide range of stressors in our everyday life, reducing stress can be a challenge.
This may involve avoiding stress–causing activities and learning to reduce the body’s reaction to stressful events since some stressors cannot be avoided. Cognitive-behavioral therapy is another non-medication treatment procedure that has been proven to be effective in the management of fibromyalgia. This therapy can be carried out over the internet or even in an office setting.
Timed Exercises: Consistent exercises can improve your nighttime sleep, but avoid exercises 3 hours before bedtime, to ensure you do not experience any sleep breaks and interruptions at night due to overstimulation.
Avoid mid–day naps: Sleeping at mid-day could affect your nighttime sleep. If you must sleep, set your alarm for a limited period; say 1 hour only.
Night time is sleep time: Engaging in activities such as working with your laptop, seeing the late night news, or reading a novel can keep you awake long into the night.
Epsom salts baths: A warm bath before bed with a couple of handfuls of Epsom salts dissolved in the water can help ease sore muscles and ensure a restful sleep.
Other therapies: include massage, acupressure, acupuncture, myofascial release therapy, and light aerobic activities.
Although there is no specific diet plan for people with fibromyalgia, some who have this condition have noticed that making dietary changes can ease their symptoms.
Of course, following a balanced and nutritious diet plan is a great start towards achieving better health. A balanced diet should have high whole food content and avoiding gluten is recommended when treating fibromyalgia.
Often deficient in fibromyalgia sufferers, magnesium-rich foods such as leafy greens and dried beans should be included, plus antioxidant-rich vegetables and deep-colored fruits. However, some people may also find a good quality magnesium supplement an essential component in helping relieve pain.
Good protein sources like pasture-fed beef and lamb, wild-caught fish such as salmon as well as free-range eggs and poultry should form the basis of your diet.
In addition to following a healthy and balanced diet plan, some medical research suggests that avoiding foods that contain excitotoxins can help to improve the symptoms of fibromyalgia.
Excitotoxins are chemicals that cause the brain’s neurons to be excited – and they are commonly found in food additives that act as enhancers or food sweeteners. An example of excitotoxin is monosodium glutamate. MSG and artificial sweeteners should be avoided.
Some nutritional deficiencies in fibromyalgia sufferers include Magnesium, Vitamins B12, Vitamin C and D, so it can be helpful to supplement with these nutrients as well as 5HTP to help with sleep.
I personally found 5HTP very helpful, and I started dreaming again when I took it which is a sign that I was in a deeper more restorative sleep.
As well as taking magnesium as supplements, I found it beneficial to use magnesium oil on sore and tight muscles, it can really help to relax these areas and ease the pain. There are many other natural ways you can relieve pain if like me you don’t want to be dependent on OTC or prescription anti-inflammatory meds which come with side effects.
Fibromyalgia symptoms can cause an individual to feel lonely and disconnected from the outside world, especially if you do not know anyone with the same condition. But with the increasing influence of the digital space and social media, connecting with others with this condition and identifying with support groups is now a lot easier.
Gentle exercise and stretching, changes to diet, taking appropriate supplements, and using some natural pain relief can go a long way to helping sufferers of fibromyalgia.
