The Effects of Fibromyalgia on the Body

Fibromyalgia is an extensively misunderstood and often misdiagnosed chronic condition. Commonly characterized by widespread, musculoskeletal pain accompanied by fatigue, mood and concentration issues as well as sleeping problems.

According to the National Fibromyalgia Association, the painful disorder affects approximately 10 million individuals, mostly women, in the United States alone. Researchers believe that fibromyalgia amplifies pain sensations by altering the way the brain processes pain signals.

Symptoms of Fibromyalgia

The severity of fibromyalgia symptoms can vary from one individual to the next and these may even fluctuate in a single person depending on various triggering factors, however, pain and fatigue are nearly always present. Several individuals report feeling discomfort in a single or multiple yet specific areas of their bodies while others describe overall pain in their muscles and other soft tissues, such as tendons and ligaments, that has lasted for at least three months. Widespread pain is identified when it occurs on both sides of the body and both above and below the waist.

The grade of pain associated with fibromyalgia can range from aching, tenderness and throbbing sensations to sharper, shooting and stabbing sensations. Intense burning, numbness, and tingling sensations may also be present.

Some individuals affected with fibromyalgia only experience mild cases of fatigue, but many describe feeling entirely physically and mentally drained. Waking up tired often despite sleeping for long periods of time is occurs frequently among people affected with the condition. Sleep may also be disrupted by the pain many individuals experience and other sleeping disorders, such as restless leg syndrome and sleep apnea, can develop alongside common fibromyalgia symptoms. The excessive exhaustion in these people can begin interfering with all their daily activities, affecting their quality of life.

Poor Sleep could lead to Fibromyalgia

In fact, studies have even linked previous sleep disorders like insomnia, to the development of fibromyalgia, although further research is required to fully determine and understand the causes of the disorder.

Other common symptoms of fibromyalgia include; irritable bowel syndrome, or IBS, identified by abdominal pain, bloating, constipation and diarrhea. Headaches, migraines, mood changes, such as depression or anxiety, dizziness and heightened sensitivity to noise, odors, bright lights and touch, are other varying symptoms some individuals experience with fibromyalgia.

Causes of Fibromyalgia

While the exact cause of fibromyalgia is still unknown, the symptoms of fibromyalgia have sometimes been recorded to occur among people after an accident that caused physical trauma or injury, surgery, infection or after suffering considerable psychological stress. In other cases, the symptoms may progressively accumulate over time without a single triggering incident. Doctors and researchers believe that a variety of factors working together could most likely be involved in the development of fibromyalgia. Because fibromyalgia is frequently diagnosed among several members of the same family, genetics is believed to be a strong contributing factor of the disorder. People affected by post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, have been known to develop fibromyalgia as well.

Fibromyalgia Treatment

There is currently no known cure for fibromyalgia but several treatment options are available to help control the symptoms. Chiropractic care, exercise and relaxation and/or stress-reduction measures are commonly preferred alternative treatments for reducing and eliminating the symptoms related to the painful condition. Through the use of chiropractic adjustments and manual manipulations, a chiropractor can help reduce painful pressure points associated with fibromyalgia while also gradually help restore any other injuries or conditions affecting the original condition of the spine. Chiropractic combined with an appropriate set of stretches and exercises can improve an individual’s natural range of motion by loosening the joints, managing the tender areas to allow people to sleep deeply and remain asleep longer.

If you’ve been diagnosed with fibromyalgia and its symptoms have begun to affect your personal lifestyle, it’s essential to seek immediate medical attention to start treatment and reduce the uncomfortable symptoms. For those who commit fully to their treatment, they can soon experience the benefits of less pain, better sleep and decreased fatigue.

For more information, please feel free to ask Dr. Jimenez or contact us at 915-850-0900 .

The Athletic Benefits of Fitness and Chiropractic: A Client’s Story

Dr. Alex Jimenez’s clinic and Push-as-Rx system has helped numerous people both find relief from a variety of injuries or conditions and achieve their personal fitness goals, just as he did with Eric Velasco. Eric Velasco has a tremendous drive for being competitive, playing sports throughout his life. He was then referred to Push-as-Rx ®™ by a friend and upon entering, he was challenged by the competitive workouts and he quickly fell in love. Eric pushed himself to give it his best, improving as his training progressed day by day alongside the help of the trainers and other groups at Push as Rx.

Dr. Alex Jimenez’s clinic and PUSH-as-Rx ®™ system is leading the field with laser focus supporting our youth sport programs.  The PUSH-as-Rx ®™ System is a sport specific athletic program designed by a strength-agility coach and physiology doctor with a combined 40 years of experience working with extreme athletes. At its core, the program is the multidisciplinary study of reactive agility, body mechanics and extreme motion dynamics. Through continuous and detailed assessments of the athletes in motion and while under direct supervised stress loads, a clear quantitative picture of body dynamics emerges. Exposure to the biomechanical vulnerabilities are presented to our team.  Immediately, we adjust our methods for our athletes in order to optimize performance.  This highly adaptive system with continual dynamic adjustments has helped many of our athletes come back faster, stronger, and ready post injury while safely minimizing recovery times. Results demonstrate clear improved agility, speed, decreased reaction time with greatly improved postural-torque mechanics.  PUSH-as-Rx ®™ offers specialized extreme performance enhancements to our athletes no matter the age.

Sourced through Scoop.it from: www.elpasochiropractorblog.com

By Dr. Alex Jimenez

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