Fibromyalgia Treatment
Chiropractic care and physical therapy don’t only treat back pain and poor posture, they also offer myriad benefits to fibromyalgia patients. Take a look at how LifeClinic can help treat and manage your pain disorder.
Options for Treating Fibromyalgia
Chiropractic care and physical therapy are non-invasive and non-addictive alternatives to prescriptions and OTC medications. These all-natural procedures are premised on allowing the body to heal itself. Chiropractors and physical therapists treat your body as one whole interconnected system wherein treating one body part affects other parts. It would require regular sessions to achieve the optimum benefits of these treatment approaches..
Benefits of Chiropractic Care & Physical Therapy for People with Fibromyalgia
Chiropractic adjustments and physical therapy offer numerous benefits for fibromyalgia patients. Pain brought about by this disorder is often severe, widespread, and can cause the patient to stop being active altogether. With physical therapy, you can help retain and regain muscle tone and get the physical exercise you need.
The adjustments and exercises reset the nervous system so it can process pain more efficiently. There are 20 different kinds of nerve endings in your body that send signals to your brain and spinal cord. These signals travel to the area where you feel the stimuli. Fibromyalgia pain is considered a glitch in the way the brain perceives pain by making people more sensitive to painful stimuli than someone with fibromyalgia.
Moreover, our doctors will also recommend lifestyle modifications such as exercising or finding ways to control the pain without medication. If you spend most of your time sitting down, your chiro might suggest regular walks to get those muscles moving.
A well-balanced diet can help ease your fibromyalgia symptoms. Our doctors may offer nutritional recommendations or create a healthy diet plan that’s suited to your needs. With this holistic approach that targets the different contributors to fibromyalgia, you can work towards a pain-free life without relying on medications.
Understanding Fibromyalgia Tender Points
Most signs of fibromyalgia are similar with those of other pain disorders. There are currently no laboratory tests that can detect the condition. What a chiropractor can do is rule out other conditions or exert pressure on specific locations known as “tender spots.” In 1990, the American College of Rheumatology identified 18 areas that may or may not be your fibromyalgia tender points. These are part of a diagnostic test and are a common tool to determine your condition.
Each fibromyalgia tender point is about a penny’s size and is located around the neck, chest, shoulders, elbows, hips, and knees. A chiropractor will apply pressure on these points and pain should be felt to be considered tender. Often, fibromyalgia is left undiagnosed because the pain in these points tends to be fluctuating and inconsistent. You may feel pain in all 18 tender points in one test and ten the next.
Misdiagnosis of Fibromyalgia
Diagnosing fibromyalgia can be difficult as it has similar symptoms with other conditions. A chiropractor is equipped with advanced methods and technologies to accurately diagnose fibromyalgia or discover another cause of your symptoms so you get the most suitable treatment possible.
Other medical conditions that mimic fibromyalgia symptoms include:
- Muscle or ligament strain – Doing strenuous activities such as heavy lifting or extensive stretching can trigger muscle pain, as well as abrupt and repetitive movements.
- Inflammatory arthritis – It is an inflammatory condition that is caused by an overactive immune system attacking the joints.
- Scoliosis – This condition is the sideward curve of your spine and can start as early as childhood and gradually progress, or can develop from degeneration over time in the elderly usually.
- Osteoarthritis – Osteoarthritis is known as the “wear and tear” arthritis because it develops over time or from an injury. It results in the breakdown of the cartilage and bony overgrowth of the joint. It is one of the most common causes of chronic back pain among older people.
