What is Fibromyalgia? Symptoms, Causes, and Its Treatment

Fibromyalgia refers to a disorder that is characterized by widespread musculoskeletal pain along with sleep, memory, mood issues, and fatigue.

Research studies suggest that Fibromyalgia boosts the painful sensations by affecting the way your spinal cord and brain process the non-painful and painful signals. The symptoms often start after an event like surgery, physical trauma, significant psychological stress, or infection.

However, in some cases, symptoms gradually accumulate over time, devoid of any single triggering event. While considering gender, women are more likely to develop health conditions as compared to men.

Ample people who experience the health condition also have temporomandibular joint disorders, tension headaches, depression, anxiety, and irritable bowel syndrome.

Symptoms of Fibromyalgia

The symptoms of the health condition include:

• Fatigue
  People with health conditions often awaken tired even if they report long sleep periods. The pain often disrupts sleep, and ample patients with the health condition experience other sleep disorders like sleep apnea and restless legs syndrome.
• Widespread
  The pain associated with the health condition is often described as a constant dull ache that can last for at least three months.
• Cognitive Difficulties
  A symptom usually recommended as fibro fog impairs a person’s ability to focus, concentrate on mental tasks and pay attention.

The health condition often co-exists with several other conditions like:

• Chronic fatigue syndrome
• Migraine
• Irritable Bowel Syndrome
• Temporomandibular joint disorders
• Interstitial cystitis
• Postural Tachycardia syndrome
• Depression
• Anxiety

Causes of the Disease

Several researchers believe that the recurring nerve stimulation causes the spinal cord and brain of people with a health condition to modify. This modification includes an abnormal boost in some particular chemical levels in the brain that signals pain.
There are probably several factors that lead to these modifications. This includes:

• Infections
  Several diseases appear to trigger Fibromyalgia.
• Genetics
  As the diseases tend to run in families, some specific mutations may make a person more susceptible to developing the disorder.
• Emotional or physical events
  The health condition can sometimes be triggered due to some physical event or some prolonged psychological stress.

Complications Included

Poor sleep quality, pain, and fatigue are often associated with the disease that interferes with functioning at work or home.

Diagnosis of the Health Condition

Earlier, the doctors used to check 18 specific points on a person’s body to confirm the disease. However, as per the new guidelines, the essential and primary factor that needs to be checked for the diagnosis is the widespread pain throughout the body for at least three months.

So, to meet the criteria and confirm the diagnosis, a person with pain in at least four of these areas is likely to be the one. This includes:

• Left upper region
• Left lower region
• Right upper region
• Right lower region
• Axial region

Tests for the Diagnosis

The doctor may also suggest some blood tests to rule out the health conditions, this includes

• Complete blood count
• Cyclic citrullinated peptide test
• Vitamin D
• Thyroid Function tests
• Rheumatoid factor
• Erythrocyte sedimentation rate
• Antinuclear antibody
• Celiac Serology

Treatments Included

Fibromyalgia involves both self-care and medications strategies. However, the emphasis is on minimizing the symptoms and enhancing general health.

The treatments to deal with the health condition include

• Medications like pain relievers, antidepressants, anti-seizure drugs
• And therapies like occupational, physical, and occupational therapies.

Even home remedies and lifestyle changes can also help deal with the health condition. For this, you must adopt

• Stress management techniques
• Maintaining sleep hygiene
• Exercise regularly
• Maintain a healthy lifestyle
• Pace yourself.

Bottom Line!

As the health condition has no cure and it is challenging to deal with the health condition, patients with Fibromyalgia are keener on locating the natural medications that can help them manage their health condition and deal with its symptoms.