As we start getting older, our bodies undergo several changes and we have to fight many age-related ailments. Heart diseases, blood pressure, and diabetes are the common names that we hear off and on. Unfortunately, fibromyalgia is one of them.
What is Fibromyalgia?
Fibromyalgia is idiopathic, non-articular, and chronic musculoskeletal pain with generalized joint tenderness all over your body. Some people confuse it with arthritis, but both are different in a way that arthritis means an actual problem with joints, muscles, or bones. Whereas, fibromyalgia makes the patients hypersensitive to the perception of pain.
Our nervous system gets affected by fibromyalgia as a result, the brain and spine’s ability to process pain and send signals to other parts of the body changes. In this way, fibromyalgia is dissimilar to arthritis and is known as abnormal pain perception syndrome.
What are the Warning Signs?
If you feel any of these below-mentioned symptoms, consult your doctor to know if you have fibromyalgia:
● Chronic pain dispersed throughout the body
● Soar and Stiff joints and muscles
● Tiredness, fatigue, and most of the time feeling energy less
● Unable to think properly with other memory problems
● Constant depression and continuous stress without any valid reason
● Poor sleep quality and not feeling fresh even after 8 hours of sleep
How to Discriminate Fibromyalgia Pain from Arthritis or Other Pains
Sometimes a patient himself can understand if the pain is as intense as the brain is processing or not. Each patient can have pain in different parts. Some can experience overall body discomforts, while others might have pain in some specific body parts, especially the neck, back, arms, legs, shoulders, and hips.
The pain can be identified as a burning or gnawing stiffness, aching, or soreness that may radiate into the legs and buttocks from the lower back.
Few fibromyalgia patients feel stiffness when they wake up in the morning, which gets bearable as the day progresses.
Two key findings of fibromyalgia are a feeling of subjective joint swelling without an objective swelling and paresthesia that occurs without an outside stimulus or objective neurological findings.
We all have heard in our life that “Care is better than Cure” and this is the best policy ever. Before undergoing any medical treatment, we suggest you be careful firsthand. It is a good idea to practice these few steps to prevent getting fibromyalgia:
- Avoid nerve-wracking situations
- Encourage patients to practice relaxing techniques
- Eat healthy and nutrient-dense foods
- Improve sleep quality and quantity
- Make regular exercises and workouts part of your routine to stay active
These simple steps can help save you from getting into troublesome disorders.
Fibromyalgia Curable or Not?
Fibromyalgia is a disease with ambiguous pathophysiology and is underdiagnosed by clinicians. Many researchers are working hard to find the reasons bringing you to the verge of getting fibromyalgia. So far, researchers have uncovered that it may occur due to:
● Genetic disposition
● Environmental impacts
● Brain-damaging traumatic events
● Central sensitization and somatization disorder
Many diseases are not curable such as blood pressure or diabetes type-2. None can cure or get rid of them forever. All you can do is adopt a healthy lifestyle and follow treatments to avoid further damage. Fibromyalgia is one of those disorders that cannot be cured but can be treated with some therapies and medication recommended by your physician.
Although pharmacological treatments are available but below are some nonpharmacological treatments promising good results:
Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), Yoga, and other Group Therapies like aerobics, chiropractic, and massages
CBT allows you to get yourself one-on-one assistance from a specialized therapist to manage stress and lessen perceived pain intensity.
Patients Education by engaging them in informational lectures and demonstrations are optimal interventions for patient improvement.
Alternative therapies like Acupuncture, Biofeedback, Hypnotherapy, and Strength training should be adopted as their results in improving symptoms are well documented.
Pharmacological Management consists of Anti-depressants, Corticosteroids, Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, Opioids, and Melatonin that are used in treating patients with moderate symptoms.
Dual-Reuptake Inhibitors like Duloxetine, Fluoxetine (Prozac) with or without a tricyclic antidepressant, Pregabalin (Lyrica), and Tramadol (Ultram) with or without acetaminophen showed some reduction in pain intensity and overall improvement of symptoms.
For all those looking for a fibromyalgia cure, we suggest opting above mentioned non-pharmacological solutions till your symptoms aren’t worsening. Anti-depressants or other inhibitors can have some potential side effects. Visit healthyline outlet for more info.