Fibromyalgia is a disease that causes chronic pain, fatigue, and sleep disorders. Are you suffering under the burden of widespread fibromyalgia pain? While there is no fibromyalgia cure, there are some things that you can do to reduce the pain. We’re going to take a closer look at five natural adjustments you can make to your lifestyle, that have helped fibromyalgia patients to regain some of the quality of life that they once thought was gone forever.

5 Natural Ways to Cope with Fibromyalgia

Here are some of the best drug-free ways to get a little relief from your pain and other symptoms.

1. Stress management techniques

Anxiety and stress are triggers for most major chronic health problems, and fibromyalgia is no different. Stress is also unavoidable, and not always a bad thing since it can allow the body to release hormones that help us to be able to focus our physical and mental energies to tackle a challenge. However, when the level of stress hormones gets too high or stays elevated for too long, it can result in numerous health complications that can make fibromyalgia symptoms worse. Everything from pain levels and migraines to fibro fog and sleep difficulties can be increased. Therefore, it is important to develop positive stress management techniques. From deep breathing and focused meditation to relaxing hobbies and an occasional vacation, you need to find what works best for you.

2. Daily fibromyalgia exercises

This can be tough when you are dealing with a chronic pain condition. First of all, no one wants to exercise while in pain. Second, too much exercise can often make your pain worse for several days or longer. But researchers agree that regular exercise can reduce pain levels. It can also help to keep your weight down, and controlling weight is important when dealing with pain. You don’t want to increase the load on your joints. So the key is to learn balance. Start simple – maybe just with some daily stretching. Gradually increase what you do each day, adjusting if you feel you overdid it a little. The result should be the release of positive hormones, that make you feel good, help with stress and sleep, and that allows the body to cope with pain levels in a more efficient manner.

3. Eat a healthy diet

You can’t make your pain go away by what you eat, but you may be able to avoid foods that make the pain worse. For example, you can start by cutting out anything that you have an allergy or sensitivity to. If you are not sure whether you have any food sensitives, you could try an exclusion diet. Basically, that means you cut out all the major food allergens from your diet to see if you feel any better and then gradually reintroduce them to see which ones make you feel worse. Besides searching for and avoiding foods you are sensitive to, you should also try to avoid foods that are just bad for the body in general such as fast food and highly processed foods as well as artificial sweeteners and large amounts of refined sugar.

4. Develop a system for emotional support

Since the condition is not well understood, there can be a stigma attached to fibromyalgia. Therefore, it can help to have a good support system of individuals who understand or are willing to try and understand your situations without any judgment. Some patients are fortunate enough to find such a support system amongst friends and family. Others need to search outside of their inner circle and may need to find a support group or a therapist to be able to talk out difficult feelings.

5. Take care of your CNS (central nervous system)

The central nervous system plays a key role in the onset and recurrence of fibromyalgia symptoms. Unlike most other chronic pain conditions, the pain from fibromyalgia is not related to inflammation, which makes it much more difficult to control. Most pain medications are ineffective. Central sensitization, a process by which the body ramps up pain levels (usually in response to external stimuli), may also be a contributing factor to fibromyalgia pain. Therefore, it is important to keep the CNS functioning as optimally as possible in order to reduce pain levels, cognitive symptoms, sleep difficulties, migraines, depression, anxiety, and other common symptoms. We would like to introduce you to one natural way to provide care for the CNS – upper cervical chiropractic.

Upper Cervical Specific Chiropractic and Fibromyalgia

Upper cervical specific chiropractic is beneficial for the CNS and for fibromyalgia patients for a number of reasons. Here are three particular ways in which you may receive help.

• Blood flow – The cervical spine facilitates blood flow to the brain, so correcting upper cervical misalignments can help to ensure that your CNS has the full supply of oxygen that it needs for optimal functioning.
• Brainstem function – The atlas (C1) surrounds and protects the brainstem. However, if the atlas becomes misaligned, it can put pressure on the brainstem and affect communication in the body and other functions of this key CNS component.
• Intracranial pressure – A misaligned upper cervical spine can result in inhibited cerebrospinal fluid drainage. This, in turn, can lead to pooling and increased intracranial pressure.

If you are suffering from fibromyalgia, it just makes sense to give upper cervical specific chiropractic a try. To learn if safe and gentle adjustments to your C1 and C2 are the natural source of care you’ve been searching for, contact a practitioner in your area today.

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