Fibromyalgia is more than just a chronic pain disorder. You probably also experience debilitating fatigue. You may even feel that the worst symptoms are the cognitive ones that make you feel like senility is setting in prematurely. Whether the toughest part to deal with is the sleepless nights, the struggle to get out of bed in the morning, or the inability to find your keys when you finally do drag yourself upright, we want to help you live your best life.

You may have read some of these tips before, but the one we’re pretty sure will be new to you is the last one. So be sure to make it to the end of the article to learn about a natural therapy that has been able to provide significant help for fibromyalgia patients in case studies.

Don’t Overdo It on Your Good Days

Just about every patient who suffers from a chronic health condition makes the same mistake – having a good day and doing too much. You may be able to turn that good day into three or four good days if you don’t try to pack 3-4 days’ worth of activities in while you are feeling okay. It’s okay to push yourself a little, but you have to learn your limits and take breaks periodically. You will be glad you did when you wake up the next morning still feeling pretty good.

Don’t Be Afraid to Say No

Guilt is the archnemesis of anyone who is dealing with a chronic health problem. If you are afraid to say no, then you are going to end up either wearing yourself out or having to cancel a lot of plans at the last minute. You need to know when to take personal time and when you can push yourself to do one more thing. Save your energy for the big events like weddings, recitals, family reunions, and the like. It isn’t worth it to wear yourself out going out to lunch with that one friend who just doesn’t understand why you can’t always be around anymore.

Stay Physically and Mentally Active

While you don’t want to overdo it, you need to do something every single day. Inactivity is like a slow poison for fibromyalgia patients. A sedentary lifestyle leads to more pain as joints stiffen. Then you do even less and it leads to weight gain. That weight gain puts even more strain on the body and increases pain levels. Before you know it, you’re trapped in a cycle of pain and inactivity.  

If you feel like you are already stuck in this type of cycle, talk to your physician about a graduated exercise program. Usually, you would just start with simple stretches to get active and loosen up the joints without adding to your pain. You can gradually work your way up to moderate exercises like walking or swimming. If your physician doesn’t want you working out at all, he or she has not kept up with the latest fibromyalgia research which shows that regular exercise leads to less pain.

Write Your To-Do List the Right Way

Another thing that can really weigh on you when you are dealing with a chronic illness is looking at a long to-do list of things that you know have to be done but that you just don’t have the energy for. The key is to write your to-do list the right way. Here are two ways you can prioritize your list so that you accomplish more:

• By energy required – Order your list by how much energy you need in order to accomplish each task. Be honest with yourself and go after the most draining tasks that you can handle that day.
• By importance – Categorize tasks by how urgent they are. Completing one vital task may allow you to feel a greater sense of accomplishment than crossing off 10 low-priority items, but only if you have the list prioritized so you can see that you crossed something off the must-do list. Otherwise, it just looks like you have a long list with only one thing checked off, even if it was the most important one.

Try Upper Cervical Chiropractic Care

While all of the prior suggestions are lifestyle changes you can make at home, this is the one that requires the most effort on your part but may be able to provide the most benefits in return. In some case studies, patients have received significant help for fibromyalgia once a misalignment of the upper cervical spine was corrected by a subspecialist.

If you are worried about chiropractic care since you are already in constant pain, you should be happy to know that there is no popping or rapid twisting of the spine when it comes to upper cervical chiropractic. This is a safe and gentle form of care that is based on precise measurements taken by means of modern diagnostic imaging techniques. Brute force is replaced by math that allows your practitioner to customize a precise adjustment for you.

To learn more, contact an upper cervical chiropractor near you, and schedule a no-obligation consultation. You may be able to find one of our preferred doctors in your area by using the search feature on this website. In doing so, you might be taking the first step on the path to living your best life despite dealing with a chronic health condition.

to schedule a consultation today.