Acupuncture and Fibromyalgia – Fibromyalgia is a condition that affects the muscles, ligaments and tendons around the joints. The condition is characterized by muscles pains spread all through the body and increased response to pain. Other symptoms that accompany the pain include increased fatigue that affects normal activities, memory problems and sleep interference. Fibromyalgia sufferers can also experience numbness, restless leg syndrome, bladder or bowel problems and sensitivity to temperature, noise or lights.
Different types of pain
Fibromyalgia is mostly described as a widespread pain over the whole body but there are 3 different types. 2 among these often affect a person at the same time but in some cases the person may be affected with all three. Fibromyalgia pain can be moderate or so severe that it incapacitates the patient. The three fibro pains are clinically defined as hyperanglesia, parenthesia and allodynia.
Allodynia
It is identified by pain that comes from non-painful stimulus. For instance the person feels pain from a hand shake or a pat on the back. A person with the condition also finds sound of moderate volume to be loud and piercing. Allodynia is categorized as tactile, thermal or mechanical. Tactile pain is felt from a gentle touch such as the pat on the back. Thermal pain is the one experienced from cold or heat. The third kind which is mechanical pain is felt when something touches the body such as applying lotion or putting on clothes.
Hyperaglesia
This has been studied much more extensively than the other kinds of pain. It affects the body in such a way that pain is amplified. Normally, something that hurts just a bit like needle prick feels a lot more painful.
Paresthesia
It is a pain that affects the nerves and is characterized by numbness, tingling and a burning sensation. A pins-and-needles feeling also falls under this kind of fibromyalgia.
What causes Fibromyalgia?
The cause of fibromyalgia still baffles the medical community. There is no single factor that can be held responsible for causing the disease. However, researchers have found a variety of things that may influence a person’s susceptibility. Genetics is suspected to play a role because the condition tends to run in families. Also, there are infections that aggravate or trigger the condition. The other thing that could trigger the condition is emotional or physical trauma since post-traumatic stress has a linkage to fibromyalgia.
How to treat Fibromyalgia
Treatment for the condition involves drugs, alternative techniques and lifestyle modifications that help your body cope with the pain while increasing sleep. Clinical medicine used to alleviate the symptoms of fibromyalgia includes antidepressants and/or painkillers. The painkillers work to reduce the pain while the antidepressants help reduce the fatigue, anxiety and depression.
Sleep deprivation is believed to be the main contributing factor to more pronounced symptoms of the illness. Deep level sleep helps the body in many functions such as antibody production and tissue repair. Patients should have adequate, restful sleep each night to help calm down the condition.
Acupuncture and Fibromyalgia – a treatment that works!
Acupuncture is widely known to ease chronic pain in many kinds of conditions including fibromyalgia. It achieves this by adjusting the release of neurotransmitters which inhibit or stimulate impulses in the brain. Neurotransmitters pass on information from external stimuli. In this way, a patient’s tolerance to pain can be increased.
Once you start acupuncture it may take several treatments to get relief for chronic pain, with increased improvement over time. In a research carried out to investigate the effectiveness of acupuncture, it was found that patients who used acupuncture for fibromyalgia had a marked decrease in pain and an increased quality of life.
At our Boca Raton Acupuncture clinic we have had tremendous success treating fibromyalgia and its associated symptoms. We’d like to show you how acupuncture works for fibromyalgia. Take advantage of our free consultation and start feeling better today!
