Fibromyalgia
Fibromyalgia
Fibromyalgia is a problem that causes pain and discomfort due to tightening of muscles at various points including neck, shoulders, back, hips, and knees. While it is not as common as arthritis, it is still faced by around 10 percent of adult population in the US. Pain and soreness are not the only discomfort caused by this issue. It can trigger various other health conditions such as insomnia, depression, and difficulty in memorizing or processing information.
Fibromyalgia causes severe pain or soreness all across the body. Most patients also complain about constant or episodic headaches, and digestive disorders. The worst part is, Fibromyalgia is a difficult condition to diagnose. It requires expertise that goes beyond what a general physician may possess.
The Causes – Finding the Reason behind the Problem
The causes of fibromyalgia are unclear. They may be different in different people. Fibromyalgia may run in families. There likely are certain genes that can make people more prone to getting fibromyalgia and the other health problems that can occur with it. Genes alone, though, do not cause fibromyalgia.As we mentioned, a wide array of symptoms are associated with Fibromyalgia, pain is just one of them. It will take a higher level of expertise to tell whether your skin irritation or bowel dysfunction is due to Fibromyalgia or not. Therefore, when treating Fibromyalgia, causes are actually more important than the symptoms.
Fibromyalgia can be caused by a number of reasons and knowing your reason is the very first step towards proper treatment and prevention. Some of the possibilities include:
An injury or infection
A surgery or medical treatment
Giving birth
Emotional distress
Chemical imbalance
Genetics
Another associated condition such as arthritis
Who Gets Fibromyalgia
According to studies, women are more likely to suffer from fibromyalgia as compared to men. Generally, it starts in middle adulthood but teens and elderly may also suffer from it. In rare cases, fibromyalgia can also cause widespread body pain and fatigue in younger children.
People who have rheumatic diseases are at a higher risk of fibromyalgia. These include osteoarthritis, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, and heart issues that affect the joints, bones, and muscles.
The Treatment – Relief and Prevention
Proper Diagnosis
Understanding these conditions and causes helps in diagnosing Fibromyalgia while avoiding misdiagnosis. The very first step of diagnosis includes ruling out other conditions that may cause similar pain and suffering. These conditions mainly include rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, and chronic fatigue syndrome. Once these symptoms are ruled out, our experts will check if your pain fulfills two main criteria of Fibromyalgia.
Number of painful areas out of 18 parts of the body. Plus, level of severity of these symptoms
The pain can be severe in some areas and milder in others
The symptoms are constantly similar for at least three months
No other health problem that would explain the pain and other symptoms
Treatment
The treatment depends on various factors including the causes, trigger, or severity of your pain. At FastMD 4 you, our comprehensive diagnosis helps us create a customized treatment plan for each patient that includes:
Analysis. Once a diagnosis is made, the appropriate treatment strategy is planned accordingly.
Medications
Fibromyalgia medications usually involve pain relief medicines or the medicines to treat the underlying causes such as anti-depressants.
Exercise
Based on your condition we will suggest exercise as well as activities such as hydrotherapy, swimming. We may also recommend a cognitive behavior therapy and psychotherapy to improve the condition.
Sleep Inducers
In order to provide long-term and complete relief especially for people suffering from sleeping problems, the treatment may involve soporifics to improve the quality of sleep.
The whole purpose of the treatment is minimizing the pain while at the same time improving pain tolerance. For more information on how we treat Fibromyalgia, please call us at 470-424-8888.
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