Fibromyalgia is a long-term condition characterized by severe pain in the muscles and bones, fatigue, and tenderness to touch. Its prevalence is increasing globally; in fact, the National Fibromyalgia Association reported that about 3-6% of the world population is affected by fibromyalgia. In the United States, as many as 10 million people have the disorder.
Some of the hallmarks of fibromyalgia include great muscle pain throughout the body, sleep problems, and mental cloudiness (also referred to as fibro fog). Because many other conditions share the same symptoms with fibromyalgia, doctors are often faced with difficulties nailing down a diagnosis. Fibromyalgia is often associated or mistaken for these disorders:
- Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) – this is frequently misidentified for fibromyalgia as both conditions involve fatigue. However, people with CFS do not experience heightened pain sensitivity that those with fibromyalgia do. Doctors also noted flu-like symptoms in CFS, which fibromyalgia does not have.
- Rheumatoid arthritis – this is an autoimmune inflammatory condition that causes the body’s immune system to attack and damage its joints and affect other organs. It brings joint and muscle pains that can resemble fibromyalgia. But unlike fibromyalgia, it causes elevated inflammation levels in the bloodstream and is organ-threatening.
- Sleep apnea – when you have sleep apnea, your upper airway becomes repeatedly blocked during sleep, reducing or completely stopping your breathing. This results in inadequate sleep, lack of energy and severe fatigue, like fibromyalgia.
- Hypothyroidism – when you have an underactive thyroid gland that does not produce enough hormones, your metabolism can slow down which can cause cognitive impairment and fatigue, similar to fibromyalgia.
- Lupus – this autoimmune condition attacks healthy tissue in many parts of the body, causing extensive inflammation, and this can mimic the body pains of fibromyalgia.
Understanding the Cause of Fibromyalgia
When you have fibromyalgia, you ache all over your body even when you’re not sick or injured. And the pain is never-ending. Even now, no one knows the exact causes of fibromyalgia. What’s certain, though, is that people with fibromyalgia experience pain differently than healthy people.
Doctors speculate a glitch in the central nervous system (CNS), specifically the way the brain and spinal cord process pain signals. The brain of people with fibromyalgia might produce lower levels of certain neurotransmitters that cause an increase in sensitivity to pain.
Other contributing factors that may be involved in the development of fibromyalgia include the following:
- Genetics
- Emotional stress
- Physical injury or trauma
- Viral infection
- Lyme disease
The Best Natural Treatment for Fibromyalgia
While there’s no cure yet for fibromyalgia, several treatments are available to manage the symptoms. Standard treatments for fibromyalgia include medications such as painkillers, antidepressants, and anti-seizure pills. These can help reduce symptoms like pain, fatigue, and insomnia. Doctors may also suggest combining natural therapies such as gentle exercise, yoga, meditation, acupuncture, and optimizing dietary intake. However, these conventional fibromyalgia remedies do not always provide a perfect solution.
A natural approach that fibromyalgia sufferers can seek out, which has a very high chance of success, is upper cervical chiropractic care. The huge advantage of upper cervical care is that it addresses one of the root causes of fibromyalgia rather than just providing temporary relief. In what way?
Upper cervical chiropractic care focuses on the ability of the nerves to relay messages correctly. Since the vertebrae of the spine protect the spinal cord, the misalignment of a vertebra could result in a malfunctioning in pain signaling.
The topmost vertebra of the spine, known as the atlas, shields the brainstem, which is a crucial part of the central nervous system (CNS). When there is an atlas misalignment, it can cause neurological injury to the brainstem. This can cause distortion or magnification of pain signals, which can lead to the symptoms of fibromyalgia.
Upper cervical chiropractic care works for treating fibromyalgia by performing gentle and accurate adjustments of the atlas so that it returns to its original position and the CNS functions correctly.
Evoke Spinal Care Delivers Results to Fibromyalgia Patients
To get to the bottom of fibromyalgia, we ensure the accomplishment of the following:
- Detailed patient history – the first thing we do is identify past injuries, traumas, or any other circumstances that may have initiated the onset of your fibromyalgia symptoms. We get your medical history so we have the information we need to provide you with the best possible care. In some cases, fibromyalgia does not show any signs until years have passed between an injury that caused an upper cervical misalignment and the start of fibromyalgia.
- In-depth examination – every case varies as individuals have different bone structures and other factors at play. To tailor our care to every individual’s needs, we perform careful steps to measure each patient’s specific misalignment using diagnostic upper cervical x-rays and other examination procedures.
- Specific corrections – our checkup methods allow us to plan precise adjustments for each of our patients. Our upper cervical chiropractic technique is accurate and gentle. We avoid forceful twisting or popping of the neck.
If you’re searching for a chiropractic clinic to treat your fibromyalgia, Evoke Spinal Care is just one call away. Upper cervical chiropractic care will work on restoring the normal function of your central nervous system, allowing the body’s self-healing and self-regulating functions to occur optimally. We will work on addressing the underlying cause of fibromyalgia for your lasting recovery.
References:
https://www.womenshealth.gov/a-z-topics/fibromyalgia
https://fibromyalgianewstoday.com/2017/11/21/fibromyalgia-and-conditions-with-similar-symptoms/
http://www.mccoypress.net/juccr/docs/2015-1375_fibromyalgia.pdf
