|
Home / Health / Medicine
Fibromyalgia - Causes, Symptoms and Treatment Possibilities
By:Knut Holt
Fibromyalgia is a chronic disease giving painful points in muscles and joint areas, stiffness and problems of neurological art like fatigue, poor sleep quality and depressive feelings. The disease develops gradually and can affect great parts of the body. It is chronic, but may give better and worse periods. The disease can make a person nearly disabled, but can also be mild or almost disappear over time.
THE SYMPTOMS OF FIBROMYALGIA
By fibromyalgia there are tender points in muscles, tendons and ligaments around the body. The points are especially common around the joints. Tender areas in the mid parts of the muscles are fewer and with lighter 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 exercised, the pain may disappear or decrease for some time.
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.
- Muscular tension.
- Dizziness.
- Anxious feelings.
- Depressive feelings.
- Disturbances in bowel function like diarrhoea, constipation, pain and bloating.
- Bladder irritability.
- Increased sensitivity to and irritability from sensorial stimuli, like light, sounds and touch.
- Dry mouth, eyes and skin.
- Pain during menstruation
The disease does not give any anatomical and tissue changes in the first place, but inactivity, tension and poor circulation may in the long run affect the body shape and give inflammatory reactions.
THE CAUSES AND MECHANISMS OF FIBROMYALGIA
The exact causes of fibromyalgia are not yet fully understood. An injury to the upper spinal region may trigger the disease. Bacterial and viral infections may also be an initial cause of the disease. Fibromyalgia sufferers often have a magnesium deficiency.
The initial causes seem to alter 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 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.
LIFESTYLE MEASURES AND EXERCISE TO TREAT FIBROMYALGIA
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 decrease 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.
In the beginning, the training sessions should be short and easy, but they should be made longer and heavier as one gets used to training activities.
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.
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.
MEDICAL TREATMENT OF FIBROMYALGIA
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.
- Muscle relaxant at bedtime can help to relax during sleep.
On the market you will also find alternative drugs to treat fibromyalgia, based on herbs, vitamins, minerals and anti-oxidants. These drugs contain ingredients to give several useful effects:
- To repair nutritional deficiencies found by fibromyalgia
- To normalize the production of neurotransmitters and thereby 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 such medicines are:
- 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.
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.
Digg
del.icio.us
Blink
Stumble
Spurl
Reddit
Netscape
Furl
Article keywords: what, is, fibromyalgia, symptoms, treatmant, options, how, to, treat, pain, in, the, muscles, joints, tendons, ligaments, neck, shoulders, tender, spots, points, possibilities
Article Source: http://www.articles2k.com
Knut Holt is an internet consultant and marketer focusing on health items. TO FIND natural medicines against fibromyalgia, acne, eczema, rosacea scars, wrinkles, other skin problems and natural help against over-weight, hypertension, heart disease, hypothyroidism, hemorrhoids, depression and other common health problems, PLEASE VISIT:----
www.abicana.com/shop2.htm
----Free to reprint with the author's name and link.
|
|
| Top Medicine Articles |
|
|
- 2). Issues Raised by the Surgical Treatment for Inguinal Hernia By : Groshan Fabiola
Inguinal hernia is a common type of hernia that occurs in the region of the groin. The disorder usually generates mild, unspecific symptoms, which can be misleading in establishing the correct diagnosis. Most people with inguinal hernia may actually have no symptoms at all, thus rendering the process of diagnosing the disorder even more difficult. The only reliable means of diagnosing inguinal hernia involve MRI scans (magnetic resonance imaging), X-ray scans, computerized tomography and laparoscopy.
|
- 3). The History Of Cialis By : Samuel Gurgis
Cialis is a prescription drug for the treatment of erectile dysfunction (ED). Cialis is the brand name of the drug tadalafil. This medication is known technically as a "reversible phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE5) inhibitor". PDE5 inhibitors increase blood flow to the genitals. More information on how Cialis works is available here. Cialis functions the same way as other PDE5 inhibitors in the treatment of ED.
|
- 4). Will the Chimigen™ Vaccine Stop Bird Flu, Anthrax and Hepatitis? By : James E. Finch
Interviewer: Can you describe ViRexx Medical’s Chimigen™ therapeutic vaccine?
Dr. Rajan George: Chimigen therapeutic vaccine is used to produce immune responses in a host against infections which are difficult to produce immune responses, by targeting the vaccine to dendritic cells. The Chimigen platform can be extended to develop therapies for difficult-to-treat chronic infectious diseases.
|
- 5). Miracle Glue And Wound Closure! By : Martin Jones
Have you ever heard of gluing a cut together? The first time I heard about this I was somewhat shocked. I was selling a product called Miracle Glue at trade shows. I had people telling all the outrageous stories possible about the origins of cyanoacrylates (superglue) - Miracle Glue is in the same category. The prevailing story was that superglue had been invented in the Vietnam era for soldiers.
|
- 6). Risk Factors of Pneumonia By : Groshan Fabiola
Pneumonia is inflammation and infection of the lungs, causing difficulty breathing, cough and chest pain. Pneumonia can either affect one or both lungs and there are various forms of the disease. The most common causes of pneumonia are: pulmonary infection with viruses (influenza, herpes simplex virus, varicella-zoster, adenovirus, respiratory syncytial.
|
- 7). Emergency Inguinal Hernia Surgery vs. Elective Inguinal Hernia Surgery By : Groshan Fabiola
Inguinal hernia is a very common disorder, affecting millions of people in the United States alone. Considered to be a surgical disease, inguinal hernia accounts for thousands of annual operations worldwide.
Although inguinal hernia can occur in both sexes, the disorder predominantly affects men. Also, this type of hernia has the highest incidence in the elderly, people who frequently sustain physical effort and smokers.
|
- 8). Effective Alternatives for Antibiotics in the Treatment of Strep Throat By : Groshan Fabiola
Strep throat is an illness that commonly accompanies flu or cold. Although it commonly affects children, strep throat can occur at any age. Unlike sore throat, an ailment caused by infection with viral agents, strep throat is caused by infection with group A streptococcus bacteria. These bacteria are very contagious and they can be easily acquired by entering in contact with infected people.
|
- 9). New Types of Antibiotics in the Treatment of Strep Throat By : Groshan Fabiola
Strep throat is inflammation and swelling of the throat, tonsils and lymph nodes due to infection with group A streptococcus bacteria. Strep throat is very contagious and the bacteria responsible for causing the illness can be easily acquired by entering in contact with contaminated people. Streptococcus bacteria are airborne and they can be transmitted through droplets of mucus produced by cough or sneezing.
|
|
|
| New Medicine Articles |
- 1). Online Pharmacies Offer Convenience and Privacy By : Michael Connelly
This is a story about an embarrassing moment the author experienced at his neighborhood pharmacy while ordering Viagra. It was a painful experience that the author contends could have been avoided if he had ordered his prescription at an online pharmacy.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
- 6). How To Reduce Foot Pain By : Dave Wilson
Metatarsal stress fractures or a bone spur can cause pain at the top of the foot. A bone spur is an enlarged bone that looks like a bump on top of the foot. The bone spur is likely the result of too much pressure or too tight shoes.
The most common remedy for bone spurs involves wearing a larger size shoe and not tying shoelaces quite so tight so that you take some of the pressure off the bone.
|
- 7). Curing Foot Arch Pain By : Dave Wilson
Are you one of those people who are said to be flat footed? Having a flat foot is a condition where the foot does not have a normal arch. You may find it affects just one or both feet. The arch is the gap between the inner side of the foot and the ground when standing up. There are many people who have very low arches and some who have no arches and are termed flat-footed.
|
- 8). How To Relive Foot Pain By : Dave Wilson
What causes foot pain?
There are many factors that contribute to foot pain
• Wearing shoes that do not fit properly — causing calluses and bunions
• Obesity or being overweight increases chances of foot problems or injuries.
A great tip when buying shoes — buy them in the afternoon when feet are at their largest due to swelling. If you wear heels, no more than one inch is best.
|
- 9). Passion rejuvenated with Cialis By : Paul Cris
Heads down for the first time
I was alone, wondering, what it takes to have sex the next time; it would take more than what I had done till then, my efforts at a satisfactory intercourse was failing miserably at each juncture; and with each women, I found that I was getting lazier once the process started. Maybe, I thought, my work was creeping into my head or maybe, insomnia was biting the flesh out of me.
|
- 10). How A First Aid Kit Saved My Life By : Ken Donald
A couple of years back I went on a mountain trip, alone. I had walked the same path before as I intended that beautiful morning in May. I parked my car on the parking lot and put on my gear. This particular path was one of the more difficult ones, and I did not meet anyone else out there in the wilderness. After a two hour walk uphill I arrived at a cave entrance that I had passed several times in the past, but never had stopped and entered.
|
|
|
