Fibromyalgia: Is it a Real Disease? Know Everything About it

Complaining of body aches and headache is quite common, popping out of our usual day-to-day strenuous activities, work overloads, lack of rest and sleep or seldom because of injuries and deficiencies. Such pains go with rest or painkillers and do not display any severe symptoms for medical correlation. One more such, chronic pain condition without any specific idiopathy is that of “fibromyalgia”. It manifests as a group of symptoms that could be acute to chronic, sometimes bringing significant discomfort. However, the doctors do not consider it as a condition altogether, due to lack of any objective test to diagnose it. 

Symptoms of Fibromyalgia

Apart from general aches and tenderness, fibromyalgia is associated with “trigger points”. These are specific locations in the body that hurts when pressed even a little. When the pain in these trigger points persist for more than three months, they become significant symptom of fibromyalgia.

Some Common Trigger Points are:

• Backside of the head 
• Shoulders and neck 
• Elbows, knees, and hips 
• Lower waist

Some Other Signs of Fibromyalgia include:

• Fatigue 
• Trouble in sleeping 
• Headaches 
• Tendency to be on the bed even without getting rest 
• Depression 
• Anxiety 
• Mild pain in the lower abdomen 

Sometimes, these symptoms also emerge as the result of misinterpretation of normal pain signals by the brain, the reason being chemical imbalance.

How is the Condition Diagnosed?

There are no diagnostic tests for the condition. Usually, when there is widespread pain that persists for more than three months in absence of any other medical cause, the condition can be termed as Fibromyalgia. Other tests and exams are done just to find out if the condition prevails due to any other medical condition.

Treatment for Fibromyalgia

The purpose of treatment for fibromyalgia includes managing the pain and improve the quality of life. Self-care and medication together are adopted to manage the condition. The common medicines administered include painkillers and anti-depressants to assist in getting sleep.

Self-care and Alternative Treatment for Fibromyalgia

Depending entirely on medication might not give lasting results. Hence a self-care plan is important to help the patient cope up well and manage the symptoms effectively. Some lifestyle changes and alternative treatment plans will help reduce the severity of the pain and the stress. A few patients also report benefits with alternative treatment like acupuncture.

Some other practices that can help are listed below:

• Physiotherapy is really highly beneficial which even reduces the onset of pain or lowers the intensity of chorine pain.
• Meditation and yoga can reduce the stress and can help in getting rest.
• Regular exercise is the best practice to reduce the muscular pains.
• Massage therapy has been an age-old remedy for body aches and pains. 

While practising all these things, take care to have enough sleep and eat nutritious diet. Keep following your doctor and make sure to go for a regular visit, as scheduled, to track your condition better. Find your nearest general physician and physiotherapist and book online appointment.

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