If you had to pick the one symptom that fibromyalgia is notorious for, it’s undoubtedly the widespread pain. Fibromyalgia pain tends to come and go. Symptomatic flares may increase pain and other symptoms. On those bad days, it is easy to become helpless and sad.
There is a lot of misinformation floating around about fibromyalgia. Despite many people who have it, there is still some mystery about it. The unfortunate truth is that many people living with fibromyalgia go undiagnosed, and many people receive an inappropriate fibromyalgia diagnosis because nothing else fits the bill.
People living with fibromyalgia cope with a host of daily symptoms, including fatigue, stiffness, depression, anxiety, sleep difficulties, headaches, difficulties with memory and concentration, and more. But, the one symptom that is often to have the most significant impact on quality of life is widespread pain. The pain of fibromyalgia is different than the pain you may experience from an injury, for example. Here are three things that make it distinct:
Everyone with fibromyalgia experiences it differently. One day, it’s easy enough to wake up, get out of bed, and function at close to 100% throughout the day. On other days, the simple act of sitting up to get out of bed can drain every last bit of energy. While there may be indications that a flare-up in pain is developing, sometimes a bad day can happen seemingly out of the blue. To someone unfamiliar with the nature of fibromyalgia pain, it can appear confusing that one day we may be able to go to work, pick up the kids from school, or go grocery shopping, and the next day we’re barely able to get out of bed.
People who live with chronic pain get awfully good at hiding it. The reality is that things still need to get done and if at all possible, many fibromyalgia sufferers will grit their teeth to get through it without complaint. When pain is at its worst, it can take a lot of effort to accomplish things considered simple everyday tasks like showering or getting dressed. If you have a loved one living with fibromyalgia, always try to remember that just because they seem to be pain-free doesn’t mean they are.
Even on days when fibromyalgia pain isn’t as high, there are other symptoms that lie underneath the surface. Days when pain levels are lower are wonderful but are sometimes plagued with fatigue, numbness and tingling, brain fog (usually referred to as “fibro fog”), depression, anxiety, and digestive issues. On their own, these other fibromyalgia symptoms can be tough to handle, but when you throw pain into the mix, the combination can become debilitating.
Chronic pain and acute pain (short-term pain explained by a specific circumstance) are different. For example, when you have an injury such as a cut or a sprained ankle, pain is a healthy and expected part of the healing process. Pain alerts us that there is a problem and serves as a warning not to push it too far. As part of the natural progression of healing, once the tissues are repaired, pain lessens and eventually disappears entirely. However, when pain settles in and fails to go away as expected, it involves complex processes that happen within the brain and body. It is no longer about damaged tissue sending pain signals and more about a neurological “pattern” that creates the persistence and magnification of pain.
Your central nervous system is responsible for relaying information between the brain and body about pain. For example, if you accidentally touch a hot stove, that pain rapidly travels over the nerves to the brain. The immediate response of your brain is to jerk your hand away. Fibromyalgia sufferers experience changes in their pain perception and processing. It’s as if the pain volume knob is on the maximum, and amplification of pain signals is their common state.
A possible explanation for this is a misalignment of the uppermost vertebra in the neck. The atlas (C1) vertebra is at the junction of the head and neck. A misalignment here often occurs following an injury such as a sports injury or a simple slip and fall. Interestingly, some of these same traumas are the precipitating factor for the development of fibromyalgia and other chronic pain conditions. An atlas misalignment can create a choke point and cause interference in normal brain-body communication over the nerves. This leads to a misinterpretation of pain signals.
Upper cervical chiropractic care takes a detailed look at this critical area of the spine and central nervous system. If a misalignment is present, then chiropractors will give a gentle adjustment specific to that person to restore normal alignment. As the body starts to function more optimally, many sufferers experience a reduction or even remission of their symptoms. If you are living on the rollercoaster of fibromyalgia, then locate an upper cervical chiropractor in your area. Schedule an initial consultation. The relief you’ve been searching for may be just a few gentle adjustments away.
References:
https://www.cdc.gov/arthritis/basics/fibromyalgia.htm
https://www.verywellhealth.com/fibromyalgia-10-things-you-should-know-189761
https://www.painscience.com/articles/fibromyalgia.php
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The content and materials provided in this web site are for informational and educational purposes only and are not intended to supplement or comprise a medical diagnosis or other professional opinion, or to be used in lieu of a consultation with a physician or competent health care professional for medical diagnosis and/or treatment. All content and materials including research papers, case studies and testimonials summarizing patients' responses to care are intended for educational purposes only and do not imply a guarantee of benefit. Individual results may vary, depending upon several factors including age of the patient, severity of the condition, severity of the spinal injury, and duration of time the condition has been present.
