Are you aware of fibromyalgia? Have you noticed the symptoms of this disease in you? You need not worry if you are unaware of these risks because this blog will allow you to analyze your health.
Fibromyalgia is a chronic disease that is commonly caused by pain in the musculoskeletal but there can be more issues like mood swings, disturbance in sleep, and fatigue. This is the disorder in which the patient feels chronic pain all over the body but that will not be painful. This disease is a neurobiological disorder, not any physical and psychological disorder.
Causes of the Fibromyalgia:
There are no exact causes of this disorder. But according to experts research, some are given below:
● Widespread pain in the musculoskeletal
● A physical or emotional event
● Different types of discomfort
● Fatigue, mood swings
● Disturbance in sleep
● Genetics
● Infections
● Memory
Experts are still working but they are sure that the causes of this disorder are mostly similar to rheumatoid arthritis, chronic fatigue syndrome, and systemic lupus erythematous. There is a significant level of systemic inflammation present in these disorders, which are autoimmune disorders.
Symptoms of Fibromyalgia:
As we have discussed earlier, the causes and symptoms of this disorder overlap with many other diseases like arthritis and joint inflammation. But there is no specific joint and muscle inflammation is found in fibromyalgia-like arthritis. According to the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), almost five million people in the United States are diagnosed with fibromyalgia, which affects 80 to 90 percent of women.
So the primary symptoms are the following:
1. Widespread pain
You will experience pain in your body and above and below your waist. This will be constant chronic pain and you will suffer it continuously that is why it is considered as widespread pain.
2. Fatigue
in this disorder, paints complain that they sleep for a long period but still they feel tired, and mostly they have restless nights because of pain in their legs and sleep apnea.
3. Cognitive Difficulties
"Fibro fog" affects the ability to focus, pay attention, and concentrate on mental tasks.
According to scientists, the symptoms which are given below will show at the age of 45.
● Face muscles and adjacent fibrous tissues are sore and tired
● Tingling and numbness in the hands and feet
● Morning stiffness of joints and muscles
● An irregular sleep schedule
● Irritable bowel syndrome(IBS)
● Painful menstrual periods
● Restless leg syndrome (RLS)
● Temperature sensitivity
● A stiff jaw and pain
● Headaches
Moreover, the following may also be possible as Pelvic pain and urinary problems, Flu-like symptoms or a cold, Anxiety and depression, skin problems, chest symptoms, breathing problems, vision issues, nausea, weight gain, and dizziness.
Aspects To Consider:
Gender
According to WHO reports, mostly women are the patient of fibromyalgia than the men.
Family history
It is also possible that you inherit this from your parents or maybe any other sibling of the family suffering from this disorder.
Other conditions
If you are suffering from osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, or lupus, then there are high chances to suffer from fibromyalgia also.
Problems:
Patients with fibromyalgia suffer from chronic pain, fatigue, and restless sleep that affect their body. That's why they cannot concentrate on their work and do not look active. Even they go into depression and anxiety. That is a major problem for the patients.
Fibromyalgia is the Disorder of Brain:
Most people think that this disease is related to the body but it actually has great effects on the brain because when scientists started to research the causes of the pain in muscles and other parts of the body they discovered that the signals of pain are coming from the brain. Because this disorder actually weaken the connectivity in brain parts that causes the impaired pain perception in different parts of the body. That's why you feel fatigued, disturbance in sleep, and mood swings.
According to research, most women are involved in this disease because they take the stress and ignore their rest, and most do not work out to keep their minds fresh. It affects the activity of your brain and you even cannot notice it until you visit the doctor. That's why doctors suggest the MRI of the brain to make sure that your brain is working properly or not.
Brain cells that are irritated aren't the only cause. "It's more complicated than just neuroinflammation," says Dr. Abraham. "There has also been a change in the size and shape of some parts of the brain." Scientists have found that some parts of the brain are smaller than expected. In addition, there is evidence of differences in the brain's connections. In general, the brain areas involved in pain processing are constantly communicating. There might be awkward pauses in a conversation between someone with fibromyalgia. Feelings such as cold, pressure, or exercise may be perceived as painful if one area cannot communicate with another.
According to the experiments on the fibromyalgia patients, the head of the experiment said: “Researchers need to identify a potential treatment target for fibromyalgia so that innovative, more effective therapies can be developed. Finding objective neurochemical changes in the brains of fibromyalgia patients could help reduce the stigma that many sufferers experience, as they are often told that their symptoms are imaginary and there is nothing wrong with them."
Marco Loggia, Ph.D., Assistant professor of Radiology at Harvard Medical School.
There are also very clear effects on your brain that you can notice like memory issues, lack of concentration and focus, impair the ability of alertness, problems thinking clearly, and mental slowness.
How to Recover From It:
Scientists are still doing research on fibromyalgia but there is no specific treatment for this disorder. It depends on how much potential the patient has for the treatment. Because if you have high potential then treatment will be of high level and you feel best. But if you have low potential then doctors will recommend exercises and medicine. It also depends on the set of symptoms that the patient suffers so there is a wide range of treatment which is discussed below:
Drugs
There is no specific medicine for the treatment but there are medicines for pain. So that patient can sleep peacefully and do not feel fatigued because it affects the brain directly
Exercise
You need to walk daily whether you are suffering from any disease or not. Because it will be helpful to relieve the pain of muscles and joints You will feel energetic and will focus on life.
Acupuncture
According to research, this therapy is helpful for treatment. Because it makes connections between your body and brain. In fibromyalgia, this connection starts to break so it helps you a lot to make you strong.
Behavior Modification Therapy
This therapy is also helpful because in this disorder your brain's connection breaks and you start behaving very strangely. Even if you don't know that you committed some crime. It helps you to reduce stress and negative feelings.
Stick to a sleep schedule
Sleep is very important for every human being but as a fibromyalgia patient you cannot get a good sleep so make a schedule and sleep according to that and you will feel fresh.
Work out your brain
According to a report, your brain is affected the most by this disorder and you will feel the changes in your behavior. So you need to keep practicing with your focus and attention. Because it is very important
Make time to relax each day
As the American College of Rheumatology points out, deep breathing and meditation may reduce the stress that triggers arthritis symptoms.
Other treatments are:
● Low-dose antidepressants, although these are not the first-line treatment
● An active exercise program
● Psychotherapy
● Chiropractic care
● Physical therapy
● Massage
In conclusion, Fibromyalgia can be treated with proper guidance and medications. You just need to consult your doctor or mentor at the same time to get rid of Fibromyalgia.