Fibromyalgia

This is a big one.  We care for many wonderful folks and, of them, we have a large number who bear the fibromyalgia diagnosis.  Many of them share a common story, they’ve been misdiagnosed, they’ve been treated as though the problem was in their heads.  How demeaning this must be.  One patient shared her story and told it as follows, “The doctors I dealt with told me ‘we can’t find the problem so it must be in your head’…in the meantime I was prescribed three different meds, for problems they could not find! ”  This woman’s story is in no way representative of all of my patients, but her frustration is. 

Fibromyalgia sufferers deal with widespread muscle pain, fatigue, sleep disturbances, headaches, bowel problems, pain and restlessness in extremities, and many more – it is a terrible way to live.  It is worse when people just give up and resign themselves to the idea that they must live with this problem forever.  By the way, forever is what’s often implied by any “chronic” condition.

I can’t do it.  I can’t give in and let people believe that they are S.O.L. (simply outta luck) if they have fibromyalgia.  Sure, we may all one day face a problem that we may need to accept.  But you always have a say.  So long as you have a breath left in your body you can create a better existence.  We work with our patients and help them manage their nutrition, exercise, proper rest, attitude, work stress, and nervous system.  Anytime I hear of a problem that cannot be cured, only managed, I wonder why.  Most often, conventional science cannot fully comprehend the true depth of the problem at hand…all we can do is manage.  Oddly enough, anytime this is the case most experts admit that the root cause of any such issues lies in the central nervous system.  It’s that mysterious system which controls everything in your body.  To me, it means a chance.  I don’t presume to act as though I know what other much finer academic minds could not comprehend.  I do know one thing, though.  If the nervous system runs the show, then you’d be much better off if yours was working properly…and that is something I am sure of.  It is what I spend my life doing.

Chiropractic care is critical for those who suffer from fibromyalgia in order to keep the spine and muscles from losing too much movement. Because fibromyalgia causes the muscles to tighten up and lose some of their natural pliability, it results in a global loss of movement in the spine. The loss of movement in the spine results in a neurological reflex that causes the muscles to tighten further. This vicious cycle will continue and over time will lead to increased pain, increased muscle tightness, a loss of movement, more difficulty sleeping and the development of more and more trigger points.

The biggest concern in treating people with fibromyalgia is that their muscles have a diminished healing ability. For this reason, chiropractic adjustments are usually modified slightly to be more gentle than normal. This helps to decrease the stress on all of the small supporting muscles of the spine, which can be easily injured.

Contact Gatcha Chiropractic today for a free consultation