"Fibromyalgia is a disorder that causes widespread pain in the muscles of the body and fatigue. People with fibromyalgia have number of “tender points” on the body and an increased sensitivity to various things that are not normally painful or unpleasant. They can also experience high levels of fatigue that are disproportionate to their activity levels and sleep.
What Causes Fibromyalgia?
Fibromyalgia is estimated to affect about 5% of the population and tends to occur in women much more than men. The difficult thing about fibromyalgia is that there is no known cause, it isn’t an inflammatory disease, it isn’t a degenerative disease and it isn’t and autoimmune disease. This makes it difficult to diagnose and treat.
The onset of fibromyalgia has been linked to:
a traumatic event that caused a physical injury
stressful/ traumatic life event such as a car accident or bereavement
disease/ illness - sudden onset illness or chronic illness (i.e IBS, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis)
sleep disturbance.
What are the Symptoms of Fibromyalgia?
Pain, stiffness, tiredness and tenderness of the muscles, tendons, and joints.
Restless sleep, awakening feeling tired, chronic fatigue, anxiety, depression, and disturbances in bowel function.
Fibromyalgia Treatment
Understanding your pain and symptoms through education
- Having a good understanding of your symptoms and how your life has, and is, being affected by fibromyalgia is vitally important. Also having a good assessment of your painful areas can help reduce anxiety or concerns that you have an injury.
- Understanding the complex nature and cycles of pain can also help you address the impact fibromyalgia has on your life."
Physiotherapy can help with both these aspects of understanding Fibromyalgia.
Reference: http://physioworks.com.au/injuries-conditions-1/fibromyalgia
Picture: http://www.e-wellness.com.my/v2/ms/is-fibromyalgia-causing-your-pain/
