How to Ease Fibromyalgia Pain

Have you been struggling with chronic pain? Do you have trouble sleeping? How about your stomach, any pains there? What about changes in mood?

If you’re experiencing one, some, or all of these things, it’s likely (and I’m hoping this is true) that you’ve been to your doctor to discuss what may be going on.

While trying to find the source is great, what’s not always great is the amount of testing, medications, and trial-and-error solutions you must go through to get results.

For some, all the testing comes back with no definite conclusion. This unknown can sometimes lead to a diagnosis of Fibromyalgia.

In this article we will discuss what Fibromyalgia (“Fibro” for short) is, what symptoms are associated with it, and what can be done to help ease its symptoms.

What is Fibromyalgia?

According to the Center for Disease Control, Fibromyalgia is a chronic “Condition that causes pain all over the body (also referred to as widespread pain), sleep problems, fatigue, and often emotional and mental distress.”¹

Those with fibro tend to be “more sensitive to pain than people without fibromyalgia.”¹

What are the Symptoms of Fibromyalgia?

Symptoms tend to be fairly widespread and can vary from person to person.

Common symptoms include^1,2:

• Pain throughout the body (commonly described as burning, throbbing, or aching)
• Fatigue
• Difficulty sleeping
• Depression and anxiety
• Difficulty thinking or concentrating
• Headaches

Other symptoms included^1,2:

• Numbness or tingling in the hands and/or feet
• Sensitivity to touch
• Joint or muscle pain
• Digestion issues (constipation, bloating, or irritable bowel syndrome)
• Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorder

Who Gets Fibromyalgia?

Anyone can be diagnosed with Fibromyalgia (most people are diagnosed at middle age), however you are more likely to have it as you age.¹

Those with Rheumatoid arthritis and Lupus are at higher risk.¹

The National Institute of Health also reports having osteoarthritis, depression/anxiety, ankylosing spondylitis, or IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) also puts you at risk.²

Fibromyalgia is not very well understood, meaning a lot is still unknown about this condition. While the following risk factors are presumed to be related to Fibro diagnosis, more research is needed to determine if/why that’s the case.¹

Risk Factors¹:

• Sex: Females are more likely than males to have it
• History of trauma (car accident, PTSD)
• Family history
• Obesity
• Repetitive injuries
• Certain illnesses (viral infections)

What Causes Fibromyalgia?

It’s uncertain.

Research indicates that it often occurs following a stressful event. However, that’s not always the case.³

With the exact cause continuing to remain unknown, it can be frustrating for those with this diagnosis to know the right treatment path, and many need to take a multi-factorial approach.

Are Those with Fibro Just Overly “Sensitive”?

When looking up Fibromyalgia, you will commonly see this idea of “heightened sensitivity” to pain.

One article stated, “Researchers believe that fibromyalgia amplifies painful sensations by affecting the way your brain and spinal cord process painful and non painful signals.”³

It can come across (even in the doctor’s office at times) that one with Fibro is not really experiencing pain, but that their brain is “overly sensitive”.

This is NOT true!

Let’s Talk (Briefly) About Pain and the Brain

The brain is in charge of interpreting signals from the body as painful or non-painful. For many people, pain is detected when there’s tissue damage (like we cut our finger, or a disc herniates in our back).

However, there is a key component to the pain signal as well, which is threat.

Have you ever woken up and noticed you had a bruise, but it doesn’t hurt? Well, that bruised tissue is damaged, yet your brain isn’t interpreting that as pain.

Why is that? Well, it’s likely because your brain didn’t interpret a threat there. You were just gardening and you set your knee down too hard on the edge of the planter, but your brain was focused on gardening.

Compare that to when you get a paper cut and your brain screams, “OH MY GOSH, THAT HURTS!” You were trying to find last year’s tax documents and all of a sudden that paper jumped out of nowhere and sliced you! Your brain needs to know where that threat came from and now! Once that pain alarm signals, that paper cut still hurts, even though the “threat” of the paper has subsided.

So “threat” isn’t necessarily a tiger watching you at the watering hole anymore, but you can see how this is an evolutionary thing. Our brains aim to protect us from threats- both prehistoric or modern.

Now that we understand tissue damage and threat, let’s look at how the brain changes with chronic pain.

Chronic Pain and the Brain

The great thing about our bodies is that tissues heal with time. So why is it that if there’s no tissue damage we still feel pain?

That brings us back to threat.

In chronic pain (or pain that’s been happening for a long time), the brain is used to protecting us from doing what hurts us.

For example, let’s say you went out for a walk and when you came home you noticed your back was hurting. A couple days later you go to the doctor and they tell you that you’ve herniated a disc in your low back.

You decide to take it easy for a while because you’re in so much pain that you can only manage getting up from the couch to make yourself meals and then you need to lay down again.

After some time (and likely some treatment- hopefully PT) your tissue is no longer damaged, but now whenever you walk, your back starts to hurt.

The thing our brain loves to do is learn. And we love that it learns, right? We no longer have to think about putting one foot in front of the other because the brain just knows “walk”.

So after weeks (or maybe months) of lying on the couch, the brain has learned “movement is pain”.

While we intuitively know this isn’t true, whenever we move, the brain sends that pain signal, “Whoa there! Do we really want to do this? I feel our safety may be threatened.”

The brain has taken something that previously didn’t cause alarm or pain and has made it painful.

So even though the tissue isn’t damaged, there are REAL pain signals being sent by the brain.

This is what is presumed to be happening in Fibromyalgia, which is commonly called being “overly sensitive” to pain.

Pain Take Home Point

Those with Fibromyalgia are experiencing real pain, and likely at higher, more consistent rates than others without Fibro.

There brain may be more “sensitive” to stimuli, but they aren’t just “being sensitive”.

How is Fibromyalgia Diagnosed?

There is no definitive test for Fibro, rather your doctor will likely do multiple tests to rule other conditions out.

Generally, pain that’s widespread in the body for over three months is the most common symptom used to diagnose Fibromyalgia.⁴

A blood test, looking at a variety of components, including Rheumatoid factor, vitamin D, and thyroid function may also be performed.⁴

What Can PT do for Fibromyalgia?

Unfortunately, there is no cure-all for Fibro. Most people use a variety of treatments to help manage their symptoms.

One of those treatment approaches is seeing a physical therapist. Your PT can design an exercise program specific to you that will help you increase your strength, endurance, and flexibility which can help reduce pain.

Are you a fan of the pool? Aquatherapy has also been shown to help alleviate pain in those with Fibromyalgia, as the water lessens the impact on the joints.

Daily exercise is also important in management of symptoms. It doesn’t have to be vigorous, but getting the body moving daily will help to loosen your muscles and joints, and to maintain/build strength, which will help with easing pain.

One of my personal recommendations is Pilates! Pilates can be low impact on the joints, but help you achieve strength and flexibility with little to no equipment. Check out my Pilates for seniors video HERE!

Have the Strength to Live Life to the Fullest!

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Sources:

1. Fibromyalgia. (2022). Retrieved 25 March 2022, from https://www.cdc.gov/arthritis/basics/fibromyalgia.htm
2. Fibromyalgia. (2022). Retrieved 25 March 2022, from https://www.niams.nih.gov/health-topics/fibromyalgia
3. Fibromyalgia – Symptoms and causes. (2022). Retrieved 25 March 2022, from https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/fibromyalgia/symptoms-causes/syc-20354780
4. Fibromyalgia – Diagnosis and treatment – Mayo Clinic. (2022). Retrieved 25 March 2022, from https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/fibromyalgia/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20354785
5. All photos created on Canva.com