Fibromyalgia is a chronic condition that causes long-term pain throughout the body. Some of its other symptoms are extreme fatigue, headaches, difficulty sleeping, mood disorders, irritable bowel syndrome and more. Its symptoms can come on without warning, or they can flare up due to triggers. For example, stress, hormone changes, and even changes in the weather.
Fibromyalgia can take a huge toll on a person over time, both physically and emotionally. The road to diagnosis can be difficult, and you may face a host of confusing treatment options that merely cover up symptoms. Gaining a better understanding of the condition can not only help those suffering get the care they need. It can also help friends and family members of fibromyalgia sufferers to better support the people they care for.
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When you're in pain, your brain is the first to know about it. A signal travels over nerves from the painful area through your spinal cord to your brain where the interpretation of painful sensation occurs. Pain is a natural response and serves as a warning that something is wrong. Over time, as your body heals, pain reduces and eventually disappears.
Fibromyalgia sufferers, however, experience widespread pain even when they have no illness or injury. Rather than the pain subsiding over time, it just lingers. As more fibromyalgia research emerges, a leading explanation for this is that there is a glitch in the way the brain and spinal cord process pain signals. Instead of appropriate pain response, the pain becomes magnified and does not go away as it should. This can be likened to a game of telephone where what the message received by the last person in the line has become distorted from the original message. The pain receptors that live in the brain in those with fibromyalgia seem to develop a heightened sensitivity to pain. This can cause an overreaction to pain signals, which can help to explain why the pain persists for long periods of time during a fibromyalgia flare.
One of the most frustrating parts of fibromyalgia is that it can present so differently from person to person. This makes treatment options a challenge. Regardless of whether you suffer from brain-fog, aches and pains, sleep troubles, or all of the above, there is one approach that has helped many fibromyalgia sufferers to find lasting relief without the roller-coaster of chasing symptoms around. Upper cervical chiropractic care can help fibromyalgia sufferers identify and work to correct the underlying cause of their condition.
The connection lies in your body's nervous system and how it handles pain. There are two vertebrae at the very top of your neck – the atlas (C1) and axis (C2). They provide protection for your brainstem. An accident, injury, or wear and tear can cause a misalignment of these vertebrae. As a result, they can irritate the nerves in this area. The brainstem plays a large role in the processing of pain signals, so irritation here can lead to the misinterpretation of pain. An upper cervical misalignment can also have a negative influence on blood flow and cerebrospinal fluid flow which may contribute not only fibromyalgia but to other related health conditions as well.
Upper cervical chiropractic care is unique in that it is specific for each individual. Once a gentle adjustment restores the normal alignment of the bones, it can stay for as long as possible. This makes repeated adjustments week after week unnecessary, which gives your body the opportunity to heal as efficiently as possible. Once the brain and body are allowed to communicate properly, fibromyalgia symptoms may reduce or disappear altogether.
References:
https://www.webmd.com/fibromyalgia/guide/fibromyalgia-causes
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/fibromyalgia/symptoms-causes/syc-20354780
TV show host Montel Williams describes how specific chiropractic care has helped his body.
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.