Fibromyalgia is one of the most debilitating disorders from which one can suffer. The condition causes widespread pain throughout the body. In fact, the pain can be so severe that patients are unable to leave their homes at times.
Worse yet, there is a lingering (thankfully minority) belief amongst doctors that patients with fibromyalgia are “faking” it. This type of thinking by clinicians often leads to worse mental health issues and untreated symptoms in these patients. In this article, we will dive deeper into the topic of fibromyalgia and demonstrate how chiropractic care can help patients who suffer from this condition.
What is Fibromyalgia?
To start, it’s always helpful to outline the specifics of the condition in question. Fibromyalgia is a disorder that leads to pain throughout the body as well as mental and emotional health issues. Specifically, the common symptoms of fibromyalgia include:
- Pain in the muscles and joints.
- Fatigue.
- Decreased mental functioning.
- Anxiety/Depression.
While the cause of the condition is still unknown, it seems clear that fibromyalgia is related to pain processing issues in the central nervous system.
Fibromyalgia in the Past
By no means do we wish to downplay the issues that fibromyalgia sufferers have to deal with today. The ailment causes an array of serious symptoms, many of which are covered in this article.
That being said, in the past, fibromyalgia was treated as a purely psychological phenomenon. Many doctors believed that patients who reported symptoms of fibromyalgia were addicts who were just trying to get pain medicine. As a result, these patients began to suffer worse and worse symptoms, and there was nowhere to turn for help.
This belief, that the disorder was imagined, was because of the medical system’s reliance on objective diagnostic techniques. Many doctors in the past were so convinced that if there was no evidence of disease shown on an x-ray or through other testing methods, then no disease was present.
Luckily, we’ve progressed in our understanding of complex conditions that involve various systems of the body.
Fibromyalgia Today
Today, we have a slightly better understanding of fibromyalgia and other chronic pain conditions. This is due to the dedication of the researchers involved in the field of chronic pain and the tireless work of those who understand how important the brain-body connection is for our health. There are now very few health professionals who still believe that fibromyalgia is a made-up disease used by addicts.
While there are still no definitive laboratory tests, fibromyalgia diagnoses can now be made with more confidence. The diagnosis is often made by exclusion (although there are some physical tests that help clinicians narrow down their differential diagnosis). This means that when x-rays, MRIs, and other tests don’t show evidence of disease, fibromyalgia becomes a likely culprit. Furthermore, comprehensive treatment plans can be developed to help address symptoms of the condition.
Often, many fibromyalgia patients will receive mental health services in addition to physical treatments to help address the physical components of the condition. One particular treatment method that shows promise for helping patients with fibromyalgia is chiropractic care.
Fibromyalgia and Chiropractic Care
Chiropractic care is primarily concerned with reestablishing the appropriate connections between the central nervous system and the rest of the body. This is accomplished through spinal manipulations and other related treatments.
Because there is a strong association between impaired pain processing and fibromyalgia, it only makes sense that chiropractic care would be the perfect treatment!
If you are suffering from fibromyalgia, or any other painful condition, come see us at Keystone Chiropractic. We’d love to be your go-to Plano, TX and we would be happy to help you today. Book your appointment now!
