Fibromyalgia is not an imaginary illness. It's excruciating for fibromyalgia patients not to be taken seriously when their flare-ups happen. If you know someone with fibromyalgia, offering support or being compassionate can make a lot of difference. If you're living with fibromyalgia, please know that you are not alone, and there are ways you can explore to manage your symptoms to improve your quality of life. Understanding your fibromyalgia triggers is a great way to help you pursue proper care.
You are likely familiar with how fibromyalgia is a debilitating condition. Chronic pain, fatigue, and brain fog can make it hard to get through the day-to-day. You may feel like you have no energy to exercise or care for yourself and be tempted to resign to the couch or bed the whole day. However, we encourage you to engage in movement albeit your symptoms, as this can help improve your quality of life. It may sound counterproductive but engaging in exercise is one way to relieve pain and fatigue associated with fibromyalgia.
A sedentary lifestyle can make your symptoms worse. When you engage in regular physical activity, it helps to increase blood flow and reduce inflammation. Exercise releases endorphins, which are natural painkillers. Endorphins also help to improve sleep quality, which is often disturbed in people with fibromyalgia.
If you think exercise is one of your dreaded fibromyalgia triggers, starting slowly and building up your endurance is essential. Over time, you will be able to gain enough muscle strength that will help increase the intensity of your workouts. Just be sure to listen to your body and take rest days as needed. Lack of exercise may contribute to fibromyalgia flare-ups.
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Suppose you want to start staying active to build up your strength. We recommend starting slowly. There is no need to rush, as your pace is the only thing that matters. You may also need to remember to stop before you get tired. This can give you enough time to rest and recover.
Engage in low-impact activities first to avoid the delayed onset of muscle soreness (DOMS) as much as possible. DOMS may contribute to worse symptoms for you. For starters, you may explore the following exercises:
This is suitable for beginners as it helps you build your core strength and improve your overall range of motion. It is also an excellent way to reduce your stress.
This series of gentle physical exercises and stretches can help relieve fibromyalgia symptoms. Each step smoothly moves into the next pose without pause, bringing your body in constant motion. Tai chi is sometimes referred to as meditation in motion, promoting serenity through gentle movements, which can help connect the mind and body.
Gentle yoga exercises may also help you improve fibromyalgia symptoms, including pain, fatigue, and mood problems. Yoga teachers usually give beginner, intermediate, and advanced students options to match everyone's levels. Engaging in yoga poses is a way to stretch your body and loosen up your tight muscles and joints gently.
A 10-minute walk daily can benefit you in many different ways. Incorporating walking into your routine can help lighten your mood, strengthen your muscles and joints, and aid in weight loss.
This low-impact aerobic exercise can help promote proper blood circulation in your body. Being in the water also offers resistance and makes you feel so much lighter, which helps make your muscles grow stronger.
Patients may experience different fibromyalgia triggers, such as dietary changes, hormonal changes, sleeping problems, weather changes, psychological and physical stress, and even a lack of exercise.
However, the onset of fibromyalgia symptoms can happen due to upper cervical spine misalignment. Your upper cervical spine is composed of your C1 (atlas) and C2 (axis) and is located in your neck area. These bones are prone to misalignments because of their function and location. When these bones shift out of their natural alignment, even slightly, it brings unnecessary stress and pressure to your brainstem.
When your brainstem is irritated, it can affect your central nervous system and can trigger an onset of different symptoms, including fibromyalgia. Your brainstem sends messages to and from the brain and helps regulate balance, breathing, heart rate, and more. If your brainstem experiences unnecessary pressure, these messages can become distorted.
The onset of fibromyalgia symptoms may be due to the brain's distorted messages from a stressed brainstem. Restricted blood flow to the brain and irregular cerebrospinal fluid drainage may also happen when there's a spinal misalignment. These can also influence fibromyalgia symptoms.
The misalignments on your upper cervical spine can be corrected with the help of an experienced Upper Cervical Chiropractic Doctor. By gently moving the top two bones of your spine back to their natural alignment, your blood flow will return to normal, and your brainstem will be free from excessive pressure and stress.
Upper cervical chiropractic care is a safe, non-invasive, and natural method that restores the balance and alignment of your spine. Please only consult with reputable and experienced upper cervical chiropractic doctors. If you are still looking for a trusted chiropractic doctor, check out our directory of upper cervical chiropractors and search for the one near you. Caring for your spine is the same as your other organs. So get your upper cervical alignment checked today.
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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.
