Fibromyalgia Causes, Symptoms And Treatment

What is fibromyalgia?

Fibromyalgia is a rheumatic disease. The disease is also called 'soft tissue rheumatism. A characteristic of fibromyalgia is pain, especially in the muscles, tendons and ligaments. These are the soft parts of the body. Fibromyalgia sore muscles, tendons and ligaments are not damaged.
In addition to pain you suffer from stiffness associated with fibromyalgia. Also, you are often tired. You may not sleep well because of the pain. Depression and anxiety are also common.

The cause of fibromyalgia is not known yet.

Fibromyalgia is chronic, the disease does not ring. The pain may become less over time. After stress or do you just have a lot more pain. By good to learn to deal with fibromyalgia, you can create the effect of pain on your life smaller.

What are the signs and symptoms of fibromyalgia?

The main symptoms of fibromyalgia include:

1. Pain. You have pain in your back, neck or shoulders. Also, the pain often occurs in the sternum, the side of the hips and the inner side of the knee. The pain often changes with the weather, stress, anxiety or exercise.
2. Stiffness. The stiffness in the morning the fiercest. Sometimes it can get out of bed very difficult. Even if you sit still long you might be hard to move again. In the course of the day the stiffness.
3. Fatigue. Fatigue caused by the pain (pain free energy) and insomnia. You fall asleep difficult and wake up at night from the pain.
4. Feelings of depression.

In addition, there are still complaints which do not occur in anyone but often occur:

1. Heaviness in the legs or arms.
2. The skin feels burning or deaf to.
3. Tingling in arms and / or legs.
4. Headache.
5. An irritable bowel.
6. The fingers have been set up.

How do you get fibromyalgia?

Fibromyalgia causes
Much research into the cause of fibromyalgia. Unfortunately, the exact cause has not yet been found.

People with fibromyalgia often have a lot of tension in their muscles. The muscle tone is controlled from the brains. The brains do this automatically interacts with hormone glands. Some researchers believe that in people with fibromyalgia changes in this interaction.

Another theory is that fibromyalgia has to do with the mechanism by which we pick out stimuli in our environment. Such a mechanism is needed. Otherwise there will be too much information for us inside. Researchers believe that this mechanism in people with fibromyalgia is not working properly.

Yet another idea is that the body is experiencing certain stimuli such as pain. Stimuli that normally do not hurt, you still feel sore.

How do I know if I have fibromyalgia?

There is no test or other tests in order to determine with certainty fibromyalgia. The doctor first asks about your symptoms. Then a physical examination.

These features help the doctor to determine whether you have fibromyalgia:

1. You are hurting and stiff at three or more places in your body. Both above and below your waist and both left and right.
2. The pain and stiffness you have more than three months.
3. You have a lot of pain points (tender points). The doctor presses eighteen points on your body. These eighteen points physicians internationally agreed on. People with fibromyalgia have pain for more than eleven of the eighteen points.

Other diseases may also start with pain and stiffness, for example, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, and thyroid disorders). The obstacles are therefore very important for the diagnosis of fibromyalgia.

Also let your doctor do additional research to make sure that you have no other condition. For example, you get an X-ray or a blood test.
Sometimes it is useful to go to a rheumatologist. The rheumatologist can also rule out other rheumatic diseases.

What is the treatment for fibromyalgia

Fibromyalgia is not treatable. However, you can learn to cope as well as possible with the complaints.

In consultation with your doctor, you can choose any of the following therapies:

1. Movement Therapy. You can improve your physical fitness by walking, cycling or swimming. To keep your muscles in shape, you can do muscle strengthening exercises. Against muscle cramps, you can do stretching exercises. Rheumatoid arthritis patients associations often organize exercise activities. The Rheumatism Patients Association can tell you where.
2. Physiotherapy or exercise therapy as Cesar therapy and Mensendieck therapy. You thus improves your posture and thereby moves easier.
3. Relaxation Therapy. Think of a hot bath, a shower or a massage to relax the muscles well. In yoga and meditation also relaxes you mentally.
4. Occupational therapy. An occupational therapist can teach you to do the daily work so that it is easier.

Some people with fibromyalgia need psychological help. Living with chronic pain and fatigue is a tall order. You might not do what you used to. Sometimes it will be difficult to keep appointments. Fibromyalgia is often not only physically but also mentally a heavy load. It can help to talk about it with an expert, such as a psychologist. If you want, please first contact your family doctor. Which can then refer.

There are no medicines against fibromyalgia. Doctors sometimes prescribe painkillers, muscle relaxants, antidepressants or sleeping pills for. Unfortunately, many drugs have unpleasant side effects. Some people with fibromyalgia sleep better if they evening to take a low dose of antidepressants.

Coping with fibromyalgia

Fibromyalgia can have significant impact on your life. Still, you can do a lot to learn to live with the symptoms.
Some tips to help you:

1. However difficult, try to accept that you have fibromyalgia. Therefore, you can not do everything you used to.
2. Tell people in your immediate environment what fibromyalgia is. Then they can take your illness and your symptoms seriously.
3. Make sure your condition remains as good as possible. Poor condition means more complaints. More movement makes sure that you feel both physically and mentally feel better.
4. Heat (shower, bath), massage and stretching exercises are good to relax stiff muscles.
5. Make sure that you minimize psychologically under pressure. Psychological tensions will get more complaints.
6. Avoid stress.
7. Try your limits to know as much as possible. Learn to listen to your body. Do certain acts do not, or else. For instance lift a heavy object is not, but the slide.
8. Learn How does chronic pain. If you properly handle the pain, the pain will be less controlling your life. There are also courses for example, "The pain the boss." Several rehabilitation centers teach this course. Ask your GP to this.
9. Try to live healthy. That is important for everyone, but certainly for people with fibromyalgia. Make sure you get enough sleep, do not stress, eat well, and so on.