About fibromyalgia - Causes, Symptoms and Treatment

Fibromyalgia is a chronic disease giving painful points in muscles and joint areas, stiffness and problems of neurological art like fatigue, sleep difficulties and depression of various degree. The disease develops gradually and can affect great parts of the body. It is chronic, but may give better and worse periods.

Fibromyalgia occurs in 3% to 6% of the general population, and is most commonly diagnosed in individuals between the ages of 20 and 50, though onset can occur in childhood.

The disease can make a person nearly unable to work an care for his daily life, but can also be less grave and only give a chronic nuisance in the daily life. There is no definit medical cure for fibromyalgia, but musch can be done to greatly alleviate or nearly take away the symptoms. Many of those measures are simple lifsetyle adjustments or simple natural treatment methods.


What symptoms does fibromyalgia give?

By fibromyalgia there are tender points in muscles, tendons and ligaments around the body so called trigger points. The points are especially common in the neighbourhood of the joints.

Tender areas in the mid parts of the muscles are fewer and with less pain. The points give a constant aching and a sharper pain by pressure. However, muscular work and exercise do not necessarily increase the pain. When the muscles are warmed up and in vigorous use, the pain may disappear or decrease for some time.

The pain is also strongly dependent upon the mental condition and mental attitude in the moment. If one is eagerly occupied with something interesting, the pain can nearly totally cease during the interesting activity.

The neck, shoulder area, hips, knee surroundings, jaw joint areas, head, face, and eye surroundings are especially often affected. When the neck and head area is affected, the pain often takes the form of a common headache.

Other symptoms of fibromyalgia are:

- Muscular stiffness, especially in the morning.
- Mental and physical fatigue.
- Poor quality of sleep. The deep part of the sleep is especially affected.
- Tense muscles
- Dizziness.
- Anxiety.
- Depressive feelings or more marked depression.
- Disturbed function of the colon, causing diarrhoea, constipation, pain and bloating.
- Irritable bladder, and frequent urge to urinate.
- Increased sensitivity to and irritability from sensorial stimuli, like light, sounds and touch.
- Dryness in mouth, eyes and skin.
- Painful menstruations

The disease does not give any distinct anatomical changes or inflammation in the first place, but the disease often causes inactivity and chronic tense muscles, and thereby poor muscular blood circulation. These factors can in time disturbe the body shape and give inflammatory reactions. However, one has recently found out that sufferers can have wider shunts between veins and arteries in the skin than the average population and that fibromyalgia tend to have blood serum reacting differently to antigenic tests that non-sufferers and sufferers of other rheumatic disorders.


What causes fibromyalgia and how does fibromyalgia develop?

It is not yet well understood how fibromyalgia is caused, but some factors often seem to be present before the disease begins to develop. Sometimes the upper part of the spinal region has suffered an injury. Sometimes there have been bacterial and viral infections before the first symptoms appear. Fibromyalgia sufferers also often have too less magnesium in their body.

The initial causes seem to change the production and secretion of transmitter substances in the brain and nervous system, especially serotonin, melatonin and substance P. Neurotransmitters carries signals from one nerve cell to another. Some signals from the central nervous system to the body may therefore be increased, and other decreased, producing the symptoms of the disease. The disturbed nerve signals then produce the following functional changes that give the symptoms of the disease:

- An increased activity in brain parts, giving anxiety and disturbing the deep sleep.
- A decreased activity in other brain parts, producing depressive symptoms.
- An increased muscular tension, espesially during sleep.
- An increased constriction in the blood vessels in the muscular and joint structures.
- Decreasing blood flow in the muscles and joint areas due to increased muscular tension and blood vessel constrictions.
- A decreased activity of glands producing saliva, sebum and tears.

Perhaps fibromyalgia is some kind of bad circle. Perhaps the central nervous system sends too much signals to muscles and blood vessels that increase the tonus (muscle tension) as resonce to the signals. This increased tonus then decreases the blood flow to muscles, tendons and joints. The decreased blood flow increases the accumulation of vaste products and give the areas too little oxygen. This abnormal state can then irritate nerves that send an increased amount of signals back to the brain. The signals that the brain resceives then exitates the brain that respond by keeping on sending excessive signals out to the body.

The symptoms of fibromyalgia often disappears if a person successfully manage to relax deeply mantally and physically, and this fact counts for this type of explanation The factor that triggered the brain to send too much signals in the first place could then be physical irritation, mental conflicts or a combination.


Treating fibromyalgia with systematic training

It is difficult to find a treatment that completely cures the disease, but a skillful combination of lifestyle measures and sometimes also medical treatment can take away most symptoms.

The symptoms of fibromyalgia can make it difficult to attain an active lifestyle. Yet, to do work, sport activities and hobby activities will decrease the symptoms and the consequences of the disease.

Regular training will greatly alleviate the symptoms of the disease. The training should engage all the muscles of the body and also include exercises that improve the condition.

A combination of muscle strength training as for example weight-lifting and condition training as jogging will be especially useful. Swimming exercises both the muscular strength and the condition at the same time, but the water should not be cold.

It is important for alleviating fibromyalgia to establish a regular training routine. It is not important how strong one works out. One must simply adjust the efforts to a level that the disease and physical condition permits. When a regular training routine is established, one finds out after some time that one manages more, and the ambition of the training can gradually be increased.

At every stage one adjust the training to a level that do not overstrain the muscles, but nevertheless gives a feeling of having worked out.

Relaxation techniques like autogenous training and meditation can help to normalize the function of the nervous system and increase the blood flow to the muscles.

Physical yoga can help to reduce stiffness, increase the blood flow and reduce anatomical defects in the joints and muscles.

The symptoms of fibromyalgia will often cause sufferers to believe that they manage less than they actually do. It may be useful for the sufferer from fibromyalgia to seek counselling to help him normalize his activity levels, or adopt a higher activity level compatible with his disease.


Treating fibromyalgia with a healthy diet

A healthy diet is important. The food should be as natural as possible, and include food sources like: Vegetables, fruit, full corn bread or cereals, nuts, almonds, fish, seafood, fouls and mushrooms.

You should avoid great amounts of fat meat, fat cheese or saturated fat from milk and red meat. You should also avoid great amounts of soy oil or corn oil. You should not use margarine and avoid food containing chemically altered fat. Great amounts of all the mentioned fat types tend to deteriorate the blood circulation and increase inflammatory reactions.

You should consume fish oil, olive oil, rape oil, canola oil, nut oil and sunflower oil, or food containing these type of fat like olives, nuts, sunflower seeds and fat fish, because the fat you then consume will decrease inflammatory reactions in the muscles and joint areas.


Treatment of fibromyalgia with drugs

Certain types of medication can be used to relieve the symptoms for a time, but should generally not be used permanently:

- Analgesics can reduce the pain in the tender points.

- Antidepressant can help to take away depressive feelings and improve the sleep. Low doses of sedating antidepressants (e.g. amitriptyline and trazodone) have been used to reduce the sleep disturbances that are associated with fibromyalgia, which are believed by some practitioners to exacerbate the symptoms of the disorder. Because depression often accompanies chronic illness, these antidepressants may provide additional benefits to patients suffering from depression. Amitriptyline is often favoured as it can also have the effect of providing relief from neuralgenic or neuropathic pain. Some doctors advise against using narcotic sleep aids ("hypnotics"), since these can lead to dependence.

Standard clinical doses of newer anti-depressants (SSRIs) like Citalopram (Celexa) are being used.

-Anti-seizure drugs are also sometimes used, such as gabapentin, and the newer drug pregabalin (Lyrica), originally used for the nerve pain suffered by diabetics.

- Muscle relaxant at bedtime can help to relax during sleep.

- Among the more controversial therapies in common use among some patients involves the use of the expectorant guaifenesin. The use of this agent originated from the thoughts of Dr. R. Paul St. Amand, hence the name St Amand's protocol.[11] Many patients report improvement on this treatment, which in turn has inspired health care providers to incorporate it in their practice. However, the efficacy of guaifenesin in treating fibromyalgia has not been proven in properly designed research studies. Indeed, a controlled study conducted by researchers at Oregon Health Science University in Portland failed to demonstrate any benefits from this treatment.

- Milnacipran, a member of the new series of drugs known as serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs), is available in parts of Europe where it has been safely prescribed for other disorders. As of August 2005, Milnacipran is the subject of a Phase III study and, if ultimately approved by the FDA, will be distributed in the United States.

- Another drug being researched is the use of dextromethorphan, which is sold over the counter as a cough suppressant.


Treatment of fibromyalgia with natural supplements of nutrients

On the market there are supplements to treat fibromyalgia, based on herbs, vitamins, minerals and anti-oxidants. These supplements can be of help against fibromyalgia by means of the following actions:

- To repair unsufficient amount of nutritients in the body found by fibromyalgia.

- To make the production of neurotransmitters normal, and this will help to improve the local blood circulation in muscles and joint surroundings.

- To improve sleep and relaxation in the muscles during sleep.

- To help for tiredness.

- To reduce pain by an analgesic effect.

Examples of ingredients found in natural rugs against finromyalgia:

- Magnesium - To cure deficiency in the body’s magnesium level.
- 5-HTP - A serotonin precursor to help against serotonin deficiency and thereby improve local blood circulation.
- Melatonin - To improve sleep and relaxation during sleep.
- Rhodiola Rosea extract - To help against fatigue.
- Ginger Root - To treat pain and inflammation in muscles and joints.


Treatment of fibromyalgia with physical therapy

Classical massage or other types of physical therapi, for example a couple of times each week, can also help to increase blood flow, reduce tension, reduce stiffness and thereby take away pain.

Ciropractic therapy or therapy by a naprapat or othermanipulation therpy can help in many instances.

Many patients find temporary relief by applying heat to painful areas.


Treatment of fibromyalgia with psychotherapy or relaxation therapy

Fibromyalgia has a strong component of excessive tension in colunatary muscles and in smooth muscle tissues in the plood vessels. To achieve a deeper relaxation will often alleviate the symptoms of fibromyalgia. There are many ways of learning the mind and body to relax.

Cognitive behavioral therapy has been shown to improve quality of life and coping in fibromyalgia patients and other sufferers of chronic pain.[citation needed]

Neurofeedback has also shown to provide temporary and long-term relief.

Meditation or yoga methods of relaxation may help for fibromyalgia. Sitting down some period each day and listen to some soft and sensual music can give the same effect as meditation.


Other conditions that can resemble fibromyalgia

Some diseases can cause symptoms of the same kind as fibromyalgia. For some of these diseases, there are objective physical tests. For other there are not any exact test that can distinguish them in all instances, for example: Depression, gulf war syndrome, tension mysositis syndrome, whiplash-associated diorder and chronic fatigue syndrome. Perhaps also there exist mixed conditions between these syndromes and fibromyalgia. These diseases are:

- Chronic fatigue syndrome
- Depression
- Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome
- Gulf War syndrome
- Influenza that has taken a chronic character
- Lead poisoning
- Lupus erythematosus (SLE)
- Lyme disease
- Mercury toxicity
- Myofascial pain syndrome
- Tendonitis
- Tension myositis syndrome - Thyroid disease
- Vitamin B12 deficiency
- Vitamin D deficiency
- Whiplash-associated disorder