Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is widely known for giving sufferers extreme fatigue that has no signs of improving, no matter how adequate the sleep or rest they get. Any underlying medical condition does not cause this type of fatigue. As many as a million people in the United States have chronic fatigue syndrome.
Chronic fatigue syndrome can be so crippling that even simple leg lifts can cause people to become exhausted quickly. Researchers at the John Hopkins University of Medicine observed 80 patients in a clinical study. They wanted to know why flare-ups occur with CFS.
Out of the 80 patients and participants, 60 had chronic fatigue, and 20 were healthy control patients. Researchers tracked the symptoms throughout the testing period. Data from the following tests included:
All the participants performed mild leg lifts designed not to strain their muscles. They range from mild to moderate degrees. The results showed that doing this gentle exercise can make those with CFS suffer. Also, this revealed how a daily routine – dressing, bathing, and preparing meals – can be exhausting for people with chronic fatigue.
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Here are seven vital facts about chronic fatigue that you must learn:
Many people highly doubt the existence of CFS. Why? It is because there is no diagnostic test for it. However, chronic fatigue syndrome is a real problem, an actual disease. It appears with various other symptoms aside from extreme exhaustion, such as the following:
Both men and women can get the condition. However, it is often seen more in women. Women are four times more susceptible to CFS compared to men. Whether this has to do with women being more open and willing to seek medical attention, we are not sure.
There seems to be a wide array of opinions regarding who can get chronic fatigue. However, the truth is, anyone can get it regardless of gender, age, race, or socioeconomic status. While it can be quite rare for someone under 12 years old to get this condition, it does not affect only older adults. CFS is associated with a problem of the immune system. As a result, many people are prone to getting it following a period of an extended illness. Extreme stress, both physical and mental, causes it for some people.
CFS symptoms indicate that a breakdown of the immune system causes it. How this can happen is still unclear. As a result, this makes chronic fatigue a great mystery among doctors. According to various theories, CFS is due to several factors: post-traumatic stress disorder, viral infections, environmental toxins, and emotional and physical stress.
In the past, many believed CFS is due to the Epstein-Barr virus. However, this theory no longer holds today. The only way that many doctors can care for the patients is by watching out for their symptoms.
The fact remains that it can be quite challenging to find a cure for something with no known root cause. CFS has so many different symptoms, and people frequently get misdiagnosed. Currently, the only way to care for this problem is to attempt to care for the various symptoms separately, one at a time. Most doctors today would recommend lifestyle changes. It would include exercise and diet. Often, they would also tell their patients to get rid of activities that would give them fatigue. Unfortunately, for a significant number of CFS patients, this would ultimately mean almost everything.
Some people are fortunate because they do entirely recover from CFS. However, there is no specific method to measure this. When we talk about recovery, it means the individual has successfully gone back to healthy living. It would include going back to work and doing their regular daily routine. Some people experience this within six months to a year. Others would report that it took them much longer, and sometimes they would have occasional regressions. Unfortunately, others show no sign of recovery. Chronic fatigue can also come and go irregularly in some people. Some people experience some good weeks and some bad.
You cannot contract chronic fatigue from your friend, neighbor, or relative. While it may be due to infectious agents such as viruses, it does not mean you will get CFS if you get the same virus that your brother or neighbor with chronic fatigue had.
The relationship that the central nervous system (CNS) has with the spine and brain functions is crucial. When people look for relief for their symptoms of chronic fatigue, it may involve the nervous system. Let us explain more.
The nervous system manages the other operations in the body. It includes the endocrine, digestive, and musculoskeletal systems. If the body is to be at its healthiest form, everything must perform at its peak, and the only way to do this is for the nervous system to get the proper signals all the time.
However, if a misalignment occurs in the top bones of the upper cervical spine, it can put stress and pressure on the brainstem. As a result, it would send improper signals to the brain. This malfunction causes a chain reaction that affects the entire body, causing health problems to arise, such as CFS, fibromyalgia, and other symptoms.
Upper cervical doctors use a gentle method that encourages the misaligned atlas and axis bones to move back into their original positions without excessive force. Instead, they use an exact, safe, non-invasive, and gentle procedure that corrects the misalignment. It is a natural process that results in the body to heal from the damage done by the misalignment. It often leads to relief for patients with chronic fatigue syndrome.
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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.
