Fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) or simply Fibromyalgia is a condition in which pain in a whole-body is persistent for a longer period of time. According to researchers, the disorder amplifies the sensations of pain by disturbing the brain’s functions that increase pain sensitivity.
It can cause after surgery, due to psychological stress, physical trauma or infection. In some cases, it accumulates over time gradually with no solitary prompting incident. The fibromyalgia cannot be identified by any lab test, but from a blood test, its potential chronic causes can be identified.
Symptoms
People who suffer from fibromyalgia may experience the following symptoms:
- Sensitivity towards pain feeling increased
- Stiffness in muscles
- Fatigue (get more tired)
- Difficulty in sleeping
- Time to time headaches
- Fibro-Fog (cause problem in mind processes) like, memory shortage or poor concentration causing cognitive complications
- Fibromyalgia can co-exist with other painful conditions like:
- IBS – Irritable Bowel Syndrome, a digestive problem which causes bloating and stomach aches
- Bladder syndrome called interstitial cystitis, causing pain and aches in bladder hence, improper functioning
- Severe Headaches including migraine
- Temporomandibular joint disorder
Causes of Fibromyalgia
There are many theories that support the idea to identify the causes of it, but few are confirmed yet. Some of the causes of having fibromyalgia, considered by experts play a role in the development of this disease are discussed below:
Central Sensitization: the theory of central sensitization says that the cells, which transmit the feeling of pain in the brain, when stop working properly, causes fibromyalgia.
Genetical problem: according to scientists, the polymorphic genes are responsible for causing fibromyalgia. Other study shows that the polymorphic gene is also responsible for similar conditions like chronic fatigue syndrome or depression are mistakenly confused with fibromyalgia.
Stress: the issues in one’s lifestyle, traumas due to different scenarios that can cause the stress is playing a vital role in developing fibromyalgia. There is no clear picture, people have various points of view about this but nothing can be confirmed yet.
Sleeping Disorder: according to scientists, sleeping disorder is not a symptom but a risk factor which causes fibromyalgia in a person. As the body cannot get enough sleep to relax, the muscles stiffs and cause pain that leads towards fibromyalgia.
Fibromyalgia is a mystery
First of all, fibromyalgia is not a disease, it a syndrome. Various doctors consider it is the cause of depression. There are a number of symptoms that can vary from person to person. The pain in the whole body is the major symptom that can be due to fibromyalgia. Other symptoms are also there which makes it easy to identify the problem.
The people suffering from fibromyalgia face symptoms like memory issues, upset urinary system, IBS – irritable bowel syndrome, depression, fatigue, anxiety, menstruation pain in women, pain in tender points, sleeping disorder, frequent headaches, morning stiffness, and numbness, etc.
As there are a lot of symptoms of fibromyalgia that can relate to any other medical issue and make it difficult to identify the reason behind it. But through proper consultation, it is quite easy to find out and helps to end up with correct treatment.
The first thing to check after the diagnosis of fibromyalgia is 18 tender points of the body. If there is a pain in any 11 points, the doctor precedes the examination and can give confirmation that the person is suffering from the problem. A blood test called FM/a is now considered helpful to check whether the patient is suffering from it or not, but the test is quite expensive to afford.
How to treat fibromyalgia
Both medication and care are important in tackling the fibromyalgia. The management of pain is the main focus that should be deal first. Common medication or health care treatment that may help to overcome this syndrome include:
- Anti-depressants
- Pain killers
- Antiseizure drugs
- Natural health care treatments
- Healthy and balanced diet
- Regular exercises like gym or swimming
- Acupuncture
- Physical therapy
- Yoga
- Meditation
- Take a Good Night Long sleep
- Massage therapies
What to eat in fibromyalgia?
There are no such boundaries made for the people who are suffering from fibromyalgia. From the experiences of the patients those are suffering from this issue, we will be able to draw some conclusions that health care management and fitness treatments help a lot to manage and overcome this issue. Here is some healthy food advice that can help a lot a person who is dealing with fibromyalgia that includes:
- Reduce white sugar intake
- Increase water consumption
- Avoid meat and eat more green veggies
- Lose or maintain a favorable weight
- Eat more vegetables and fruits
- Restrict carbohydrates intake
Foot pain in fibromyalgia
One of the main issues that can cause by fibromyalgia is a pain in the foot. Estimated 50 percent of the diagnosed people claim that they felt foot pain. According to the doctors, Continue foot pain may be due to weight, unhealthy food intake or can be due to pain sensitivity. To reduce that pain it is important for a patient to get a foot massage, buying a good orthotic shoe, orthotic stretchers, etc.
