Fibromyalgia is not a new condition. It is associated with many people on the planet and is not with many "Injury Factors". The complete condition is more common in women, but is also common in men, and I have seen it even in children and young people.
Spinal origins from the neck, mid back and low back figure prominently in it & # 39; s It sees deep spinal muscles cause deep nerve compression and traction that cause further muscle problems in the spine, limbs and head. Pain can be directly from the muscles crushing a joint, from from refer reference into into the joint from the spine. Typical both exist at the same time. Headaches can be referred from from pain from the neck but also from muscle problems around the head.
To better understand the condition, we must learn some biophysics. Fortunately, it is not easy to understand the condition, we have learn some biophysics.
This is probably related, in part, to a decrease in growth hormone levels as we, in adulthood is reached, adult skeletal muscles shorten with exercise, injury or any movement of the muscle. move into adulthood. It appears that growth hormone has an affect upon the degree in which muscles sustain exercise and injury.
This is why a child can run, it is better, this is why a child can run all day and not tire out or ache and then wake the next day and run all day yet again. This is also why most adults over thirty In difficulty, there are some people. In fact, one of my patients is over sixty-five and has run as much as two marathons within a few days!
Neverheless, many of the over-thirty crowd will eventually succumb to knee pain from running.
This will cause joint occurrence joint compression of the spine and limbs and causes crepitus, or cracking of the joint, joint stiffness This is why we are stiff when we wake, or after sitting or standing for a period of time. Anything that aggravates your sleep will also make the muscle shortening worse.
The triangle being - I am afraid of the fibulyalgia devil. - trial of that fibromyalgia devil - which causes more sleep problems - which causes more anxiety - which causes more muscle pain - which causes more sleep problems - which causes more anxiety and around and around it goes.
Chronic pain will disrupt normal sleep cycles by acting as "stimulant" to your sleeping ability. Medications, supplements and treatments that block this this will will help fibromyalgia significantly.
The Fibromyalgia Triangle
Chronic Pain - Sleep Disruption - Anxiety / Depression
This other is pinched a nerve, and all tissues is provided by that nerve It is very irritable and electrically sensitive. tissue has lost direction from its nerve.
Not all tissue is affected in a bad way but muscle tissue responds by becoming tighter or more spastic. This is why a person with a pinched low back nerve has trouble with hamstring There are many more possible problems but remember that a pinched nerve will cause persistent muscle spasm and other tissue abnormalities.
It will also cause joint compression in in spiral position it abnormally spastic or short will event eventually scar into a tight spastic position in abnormal joint movement and compression. the limbs and abnormal tracking, which will cause abnormal wear points and osteoarthritis.
This is why I have prescribed osteoarthritis compression arthritis, as it is a more accurate description of the cause of the arthritis.
These understanding further, the three top layers are designed to be the heavy work muscles for the spine and the two deepest layers are designed to be the structural integrity for the spine. These deep muscles, primarily the multifidus and the rotator brevis and longus muscles are probably the most important muscles of the body.
These muscles become very tight and scarred and can literally crush These muscles become very tiny. They are not designed for heavy work but unfortunately will. These muscles will be the most important cause of most spinal disease.
I should introduce the term neuropathy and myofascial such as multiple sclerosis, but also myofascial compression / traction neuropathy, or "pinched nerves". The most common The deep spinal muscles cause directly, or indirectly, most of the pinched nerves we experience in our lives.
"Myo" refers to muscle, and "fascia" refer to the connective tissue of muscle and tendon. Together they refer to a group of conditions caused by muscle Myofascial dysfunction or MFD is similar, but refers to the abnormal function of muscle due to neuropathy and myofascial pain.
The base of the neck and low back are most susceptible to muscle injury and scarring. The areas of note are between the first cervical, or neck vertebrae and the seventh cervical vertebrae. In the low back, the weak areas are between the fourth lumbar vertebrae and the first sacral vertebrae.
But these areas are the most intolerable by design, I will remind the readers that I have found severe abnormalities at all levels of the spine and, in the case of fibromyalgia, this is generally so.
A quick list of injury factors include: Injury factors are simply a factor related to a person 's pain problem. Even though many are deny any obvious injury, I will insure that person, injuries have occurred.
Increased Age Repetitive Work Types and Severity of Accidents Joint deformity Hormonal Effects The Presence of Stress or Worry Inherent Anniety Level Types of Work and Workload The Absence of Stretching Muscle Bulk and Strength Muscle Length Nerve function Inherent flexibility of muscle Types of Hobbies and Past-times Drug Effects upon muscles
The importance in understanding the idea of an injury factor, is that it helps the individual individual attendant the import individual in attempting to infinite number of Injury Factors related to MFP and MFD. to identify which factors might be important in their pain disorder.
For instance, anxiety and depression can contribute to increased intrinsic muscle tone, not every one has the same factors at the same level of importance. Hectorones, or the lack of them, may play a role in the gradual onset of MFP for most adults with chronic pain over 50. Supplementation may play a role in their recovery but probably not major major role.
The health of a nerve can decide the health and a function of the affiliated muscle groups.
Other medications, such as anti-inflammatories, can make a dramatic change in our muscles ability to combat or recover from injury. The work we have has large impact on the pain problems we will develop.
(Eg Letter carriers will tend to suffer torsion of their spinal from carrying the postal bag and repetitive strain of his dominant arm due to sorting.)
However, this does not need the case, most athletes are not receiving the proper preventative care for arthritis.
One of my most important points that I am often quote is ...
"The best you can hope for is to keep it at bay."
The deep spinal muscles cause minor or even major nerve entrapment syndromes. Those nerve injuries will cause pain that refers into our limbs, head and body. They can create dizziness, ringing of the ears, abdominal pain and bloating. Palpitations may be created by sympathetic exhaustion. Visual blurring may originate from neck problems.
The weakest segments of the spine are the base of the neck and back but the middle of the back is also commonly affected.
Injury factors will determine the age of onset, the severity, and the pains associated with the condition.
A comprehensive stretching program will prove to be the single determining factor for prevention. Career, lifestyle, depression and age are also important.
I have demonstrated this with thousands of my patients and myself. Good news! But it looks like this condition is incurable, this is not so. Fibromyalgia is potentially reversible!
An example of recovery:
This is war and the stakes are high. Understanding your condition is extremely important- to become comfortable with the main aspects and anatomy of the condition.
No fear. Do not be afraid of fibromyalgia. It is very important that calmness prevails because anxiety will only make the pain and your sleep patterns worse. People do not usually die of fibromyalgia, they often only wish they did.
Learn as much as you about stretching, physiotherapy and chiropractic.
Prevent injury. An ounce of prevention is worth a ton of cure. If you are suffering from a chronic pain syndrome, do not test the limits of the condition by over-exercising or doing tasks that you know are going to cause you more pain later Pace yourself and attempt to reduce injury and pain. Do however, try to avoid being a couch potato.
Begin with a good, comprehensive stretching program like my Stretching Videos http://www.stretch-doctor.com Always use stretching programs in consultation with a therapist If you "race through stretching with all guns ablazing", you are bound to get hurt. GO-SLOW is the rule of the game.
Within the area of physio there are numerous tools such as "cold laser", traditional ultrasound, and a new powerful focused ultrasound that can break muscle scarring. Manipulation, stretching and traction can be helpful but more often a little too painful for the fibromyalgic in the early stages of therapy.
Some of the manipulations can be too painful to end early on in recovery but may also be more effective as the recovery procedures.
One of my techniques is a a is a huge area. There is a huge area. I myself, have developed various techniques that I call up to break the spinal and limb muscle spasm and scars. I have made a few configurations to "tweak it a bit." It is very important to break loose virtually all the scars in the The problem with this neck, mid-back and low back. The problem with this technique involves literally two to three hundred needle injections, most of which are quite painful. Paraspinal nerve blockade can diminish the pain, as well as pre-medication with analgesics like codeine and oxycodone.
I would, with in the fact, I am one of the first reported, if not the first, to treat the deepest spinal layers with Botox injection in North America. I would, however, not begin with this drastic technique , I believe that most of fibromyalgics will require some form of needle therapy to have a good recovery.
Patients who suffer mild symptoms may benefit even more from massage therapy but I would still add personal stretching to this. Many doctors are advocates for cold Trial and error will be necessary for most to find which works best for you and it may vary, time to time and area to area. This of course, is true of all the therapies.
I often suggest walking, swimming or biking in limited amount. Remember to stretch before, sometimes during and of course, after exercise You will find stretching after exercise will be easier and more effective.
Supplements are medicines that supplement what you already have in your body. Herbs are sometimes supplementing The mainstay of any doctor for the treatment of fibromyalgia includes non- They may not work well before initially but may work as the spinal muscles are returned to the market as they are Voltareal such as Voltareal such as Colebrex and Vioxx. Muscle relaxants can be helpful but can be addictive. Examples include Robaxacet and Flexeril. Some of the older anti-depressants Amitriptyline, Nortriptyline and Trazadone are very effective for increasing ability for sleep and decreasing the pain.
Brain fog "may also improve. Tryptophan and Immovane are often used for poor sleep but may be less effective. B-Blockers such as Inderal can also be very effective There are so many of them and the science behind them is huge, so I There are a few. There are the old standbys of Glucosamine Sulfate, Chondroitin, Devil and Cat & # 39; s Claw and Sharks Cartilage. Most of these products are aimed at cartilage supplementation and reducing inflammation. in some way but very successful for a reserved few.
Neverheless, I often recommend them, as most people do not chew on pieces of cartilage in their diet and so may benefit from supplementation. MSM has been recently introduced but has not been shown to the cure - all that was promised.
Hormones. I need suggest different forms of hormone supplementation for some of my owners with testosterone for men and estrogen and progesterone for women. There will be a limited benefit for pain but some people will respond better than expected.
Growth Hormone will be a major player for pain and rehabilitation in the future. "Be careful though, there is a downside," and will allow pain for sufferers to heal faster, and resist injury better. all hormone therapy may be associated with increased risk of cancer.
Other supplements include Melatonin, a central brain hormone that can dramatically help sleep and pain in some. It is stimulates growth hormone secret but is not completely proven to be safe. L-Arginine is one of many amino acids that stimulates growth hormone naturally and may become a major player for pain and rehabilitation.
Be careful though, creatine may damage your kidneys. Calcium-B-hydroxy-B-methylbutyrate monohydrate , also known as HMB is an amazing muscle shortening and injury and therefore can help MFP, joint pain and performance enhancement for sports. CMO - cis - 9 is an unusual fatty acid ester is not found in humans but is found I have posted that CMO-cis-9 probably acts to remyelinate (repair) damaged nerves of the spinal and limbs that contribute to arthritic neuropathy.
Everyday examples include Vitamins A, C and E but some stronger ones include grape seed extract and French Maritime Pine Bark. Of course, it is not a great idea to combine all these medications at once.
So, yes, there is a cure for most patients suffering from fibromyalgia! Some people can not be totally cured but may be helped by a combination of therapy and analgesics.
Most sufferers can be reversed with a consistent but modifiable therapy consisting of stretching, physiotherapy, chiropractic, advanced needle therapy (IMS), complementary medications, anti-inflammatories, pain killers, sleep enhancement therapy and stress reduction techniques.
I deep participation and education. I insist upon it due to recovery.
You must find a physician who can guide you through the therapies and "can roll with the punches", as there is usually a wild ride up and down the road to recovery to but recovery is possible for most!
These conditions can be greatly aggravate recovery and may make it impossible to fully recover unless they too are also such a rupture of myofascial pain with other condition such as rheumatoid disease, cancer, radiation injury, depression, addressed.
Finally, please remember that I, and other doctors or therapists are not gods but are simply people trying to make a difference in a person & # 39; s life that is really suffering.
But there is hope!
