Fibromyalgia is a chronic condition that causes pain throughout the body, fatigue and other symptoms, according to Medline Plus, the US National Library of Medicine.
Additionally, he explained that people with fibromyalgia may be more sensitive to pain than those without, and this is known as abnormal pain perception.
For this reason, Mayo Clinic, a non-profit entity dedicated to clinical practice, education and research, indicated that the main symptoms of fibromyalgia include:
- Widespread pain. The pain associated with fibromyalgia is often described as mild, aching, constant pain that lasts for at least three months. To be considered widespread, you must have pain on both sides of your body, and above and below your waist.
- Fatigue. People with fibromyalgia often wake up tired, but at the same time report sleeping a lot. Sleep is often interrupted by pain, and many fibromyalgia patients have other sleep disorders, such as restless legs syndrome and sleep apnea.
- Cognitive difficulties. A symptom commonly called “fibro fog” hinders the ability to focus, attention and mental concentration.
Additionally, fibromyalgia often coexists with other conditions, such as the following:
- Irritable colon syndrome.
- Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.
- Migraine and other types of headaches.
- Interstitial cystitis or painful bladder syndrome.
- Temporomandibular joint disorders.
- Anxiety.
- Depression.
- Postural tachycardia syndrome.
In fact, the non-profit organization pointed out that the risk factors for fibromyalgia are the following:
- The sex. Fibromyalgia is diagnosed more often in women than in men.
- Family background. You are more likely to have fibromyalgia if a parent or sibling also has the condition.
- Other disorders. If you have osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, or lupus, you are more likely to have fibromyalgia.
For this reason, if you were diagnosed with fibromyalgia, you can consume some herbs that help improve pain, such as Cayenne pepper, Hypericum or Harpagofito for their analgesic properties, according to the Better Health portal.
Anyway, before doing it, The first thing to do is consult a health expert so that he or she can guide the process and indicate what is most appropriate for each person, since the information given above in no way replaces medical advice.
For its part, the library revealed that fibromyalgia is treated with a combination of therapies, which can include medications, lifestyle changes, talk therapy and complementary treatments:
- Over-the-counter pain relievers.
- Prescription medications specifically approved to treat fibromyalgia.
- Prescription pain relievers.
- Certain antidepressants, which can help with pain or trouble sleeping.
- Lifestyle changes.
- Sleep well.
- Exercise regularly. If you haven’t been exercising, start slowly and you may need to see a physical therapist, who can help create a plan that works for you.
- Learn to manage stress.
- Eat a healthy diet.
- Learn to take things slowly. Doing too much can make symptoms worse. Therefore, we must learn to balance being active with the need to rest.
- talk therapy: Cognitive behavioral therapy can help with strategies to deal with pain, stress, and negative thoughts. If you also have depression along with fibromyalgia, talk therapy can help.
- Complementary therapies: These have helped some people with fibromyalgia symptoms. However, researchers need to do more studies to show which ones are effective. These therapies include:
- Therapeutic massages.
- Movement therapies.
- chiropractic.
- Acupuncture.
