Nova Spine & Wellness uses Natural Solutions for Dealing with Fibromyalgia – No Need for the Side Effects of Drugs

The word fibromyalgia comes from the Latin term for fibrous tissue (fibro) and the Greek ones for muscle (myo) and pain (algia). Fibromyalgia syndrome is chronic disorder which includes widespread muscle pain, fatigue, and multiple tender points that affects about 1.5 million people in the UK. For reasons that are unclear, more than 90% of those who develop fibromyalgia are women. It is not currently known whether the predominance of women who suffer from fibromyalgia is a phenomenon of the socialisation of women in the westernised culture or whether it is some combination of the female reproductive hormones and other genetic predispositions.

Fibromyalgia syndrome is a chronic disorder which causes pain in all four quadrants of the body. Pain in all four quadrants of the body means that you have pain in both your right and left sides, as well as above and below the waist.

Fibromyalgia is caused by a stress-induced change in your metabolism and healing processes. This condition often develops gradually; beginning in early adulthood and progressing as you age. These metabolic changes are the result of a stress-induced decrease in blood flow to an area of the brain called the pituitary. Subsequently, this decrease in blood flow causes a decrease in the production and distribution of a number of important hormones throughout your body; such as the growth hormone releasing hormone, somatotropin, and the thyroid stimulating hormone.

WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS OF FIBROMYALGIA?

Common symptoms of fibromyalgia include:

• pain,
• fatigue,
• sleep disturbances,
• morning stiffness,
• headaches,
• irritable bowel syndrome,
• painful menstrual periods,
• numbness or tingling of the extremities,
• restless legs syndrome,
• temperature sensitivity,
• cognitive and memory problems (sometimes referred to as “fibro fog”),
• hypothyroidism,
• abnormal muscle healing.

Spine & Wellness care can prevent the loss of movement in your spine and muscles and thus promote healing by keeping your spine calm and relaxed. Fibromyalgia causes your muscles to tighten up and lose their natural pliability, which if left untreated can results in a drastic loss of movement in the spine. Moreover, this loss of spine movement instigates a neurological reflex which causes your muscles to tighten even further. As this cycle worsens over time, fibromyalgia sufferers experience heightened pain, increased muscle tightness, a loss of movement, as well as difficulty sleeping.

Spine & Wellness care can prevent this cycle by continually adjusting the spine and sustaining its movement.

One of the most significant concerns in treating fibromyalgia sufferers is that their muscles cannot heal adequately. Subsequently, at Nova Spine & Wellness our team of experienced practitioners perform gentler spinal adjustments in order to decrease the stress on all of the small supporting muscles of the spine which can be easily injured. Moreover, we encourage all of our clients to pursue sports massage therapies during spine & wellness care which will significantly support your muscles’ healing processes.

Certain day to day lifestyle choices can also significantly impact the effects of fibromyalgia. These lifestyle changes can reduce your pain, enable you to remain more active, and permit you to experience a better quality of life. These include:

• Getting enough sleep,
• Moderate aerobic and other low impact exercises such as walking and swimming,
• Making changes at work, (for example; reducing the number of hours at work, finding a job which will allow you to have a flexible schedule, or switching to a less physically demanding job),
• Avoid foods which can be stressful for your body to process such as dairy, eggs, wheat, corn, as well as anything with monosodium glutamate (MSG), nitrates or nitrites (which are commonly found in processed foods),
• Eat as much clean, organically grown whole foods as possible such as brown rice, legumes, oats, spelt, rice milk, soy, hormone-free chicken or turkey, roots, nuts and berries,
• Take nutritional supplements such as magnesium malate and ginkgo biloba amongst others.

To book an appointment please call 01438 532 075 or view availability and book on-line here.

RESEARCH:

Effects of resistance training and treatment in women with fibromyalgia. L. Panton, et. al. J Altern Complement Med. 2009 Mar;15(3):321-8.

Management of fibromyalgia syndrome: a systematic review of the literature. Michael Schneider, DC, PhD, Howard Vernon, DC, PhD, Gordon Ko, MD, Gordon Lawson, MSc, DC, and Jerome Perera. J Manipulative Physiol Ther. 2009 Jan;32(1):25-40.

Movement and massage therapy reduce fibromyalgia pain. Field T., Delage J., Hernandez-Reif M. Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies (2003) 7(1),49-52.

A combined ischemic compression and spinal manipulation in the treatment of fibromyalgia: a preliminary estimate of dose and efficacy. Hains G., Hains F. J Manipulative Physiol Ther. 2000 May;23(4):225-30.

The effectiveness of management of fibromyalgia patients: a pilot study. Blunt KL, Rajwani MH, Guerriero RC. J Manipulative Physiol Ther. 1997 Jul-Aug;20(6):389-99.

Effects of aerobic exercise on pain perception, affect, and level of disability in individuals with fibromyalgia. D. Nichols, T. Glenn. Physical Therapy, Vol.74, No.4, April 1994.

Diagnosis and treatment of fibromyalgia syndrome. S. St.Claire. Journal of the Neuromusculoskeletal System, 2:101-111,1994.

Dependence of tender points upon posture – a key to the understanding of fibromyalgia syndrome. K. Hiemeyer, R. Lutz and H. Menninger. Journal of Manual Medicine (1990) 5:169-174.