FIBROSIS / FIBROMYALGIA
What is Fibrosis / FibroMyalgia
Fibromyalgia is a chronic condition causing pain, stiffness, and tenderness of the muscles, tendons, and joints. Fibromyalgia is also characterized by restless sleep, awakening feeling tired, fatigue, anxiety, depression, and disturbances in bowel function.
While fibromyalgia is one of the most common diseases affecting the muscles, the painful tissues involved are not accompanied by tissue inflammation. Therefore, despite potentially disabling body pain, sufferers with fibromyalgia do not develop body damage or deformity.
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Fibromyalgia also does not cause damage to internal body organs. Therefore, fibromyalgia is different from many other rheumatic conditions (such as rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus, and polymyositis). In those diseases, tissue inflammation is the major cause of pain, stiffness and tenderness of the joints, tendons and muscles, and it can lead to joint deformity and damage to the internal organs or muscles.
What causes fibromyalgia?
There is now a clearer understanding that illness is not easily divided into physical or mental, and that there is an interaction between them. Fibromyalgia is an illness involving both the mind and the body. Sometimes this is called a functional disturbance.
Research into fibromyalgia has been stimulated by the finding of specific tender points and the discovery of sleep disturbance. Brain wave studies (electroencephalography, or EEG) during sleep have revealed that people with fibromyalgia lose deep sleep. Deep (non-dreaming), 'restorative' sleep is repeatedly and excessively disturbed by lighter, dreaming (rapid eye movement, or REM) sleep. In an experiment, some healthy people who were woken up in each period of deep sleep suffered the typical symptoms and tender points of fibromyalgia.
 Several things could cause the disturbance of deep sleep that can produce fibromyalgia. More than one cause may be affecting any particular individual. Pain or stiffness in the neck may disturb sleep. There may be the pain and stress of an injury or of another disease like arthritis. Emotional pain and the strain of anxiety or depression brought on by events or relationships at home or at work may also be important factors, as may abuse in childhood. Once fibromyalgia sets in there is a vicious circle of pain and sleep disturbance (see Figure 1). This can be enough to cause depression even if this was not a problem initially. When fibromyalgia is obviously associated with another condition like arthritis or depression it is called 'secondary' (i.e. caused by the other condition). When it seems to be occurring alone it is called 'primary'.
Research is being carried out to find out whether chemical changes in the nervous system might cause increased sensitivity (known as sensitisation) to pressure or relatively minor knocks which would not normally be painful.
Each sufferer with fibromyalgia is unique. Any of the above symptoms can occur intermittently and in different combinations.
 What is the treatment for fibromyalgia?
Since the symptoms of fibromyalgia are diverse and vary among sufferers, treatment programs must be individualized for each sufferer. Treatment programs are most effective when they combine education, stress reduction, regular exercise, medications and other therapies. Recent studies have verified that the best outcome for each sufferer results from a combination of approaches that involves customization of a treatment plan.
Sufferer Education
Education is an important first step in helping understand and cope with the diverse symptoms. Unfortunately, not all physicians are intimately acquainted with the vagaries of this illness. Therefore, hospital support groups, local chapters of the Arthritis Foundation and other therapists have become important educational resources for sufferers and their doctors.
Stress Reduction
It is extremely difficult to measure stress levels in different sufferes. For some people, spilling milk on the table can represent a significant tragedy. For others, a tank rolling into the living room might represent "just another day!" Therefore, stress reduction in the treatment of fibromyalgia must be individualized. Stress reduction might include simple stress modification at home or work, biofeedback, relaxation tapes, psychological counselling, and/or support among family members, friends, and doctors. Sometimes, changes in environmental factors (such as noise, temperature, and weather exposure) can exacerbate the symptoms of fibromyalgia, and these factors need to be modified.
Exercise
Low-impact aerobic exercises, such as swimming, cycling, walking and stationary cross-country ski machines can be effective treatments for fibromyalgia. How exercise benefits fibromyalgia is unknown. Exercise may exert its beneficial effect by promoting a deep level of sleep (non-REM sleep).
Medications
Due to the fact that sufferers requirements are so diverse we do not supply information on this aspect of treatment. Ordinary sleeping tablets are best avoided because they are often habit-forming and eventually lose their effect.
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Other Treatments
Standard acupuncture and was recently reported to be effective in treating some sufferers with fibromyalgia. Treatments like massage, acupuncture, and physiotherapy can all soothe pain and improve morale. Note that low-level repetitive circulatory massage can be more effective than other forms of massage to relieve pain on an on-going basis.
Fibromyalgia may settle down by itself, but this can take weeks, months or even years. |
Client reported benefits for Fibrosis / FibroMyalgia include:
- Improving quality of sleep.
- Reducing pain levels by relaxing associated muscle tissue.
- Reducing stress and tension.
Medical research on the benefits of Massage for Fibromyalgia:
Massage therapy improved sleep patterns and decreased pain, fatigue, anxiety, depression and cortisol levels in adults with fibromyalgia. Sunshine, W., Field, T., Schanberg, S., Quintino, O., Fierro, K., Kuhn, C., Burman, I., and Schanberg, S. (1996). Fibromyalgia benefits from massage therapy and transcutaneous electrical stimulation. Journal of Clinical Rheumatology, 2, 18-22.
Fibromyalgia patients slept better (showed lower activity levels suggesting more deep sleep), and had lower substance P levels and less pain following a month of biweekly massages. Field, T., Diego, M., Cullen, C., Hernandez-Reif, M., Sunshine, W., & Douglas, S. (2002). Fibromyalgia pain and substance P decrease and sleep improves after massage therapy. Journal of Clinical Rheumatology, 8, 72-76.
Forty patients with fibromyalgia were randomly assigned to a movement/massage therapy group or a relaxation control group two times per week for 3 weeks. The movement/massage therapy group showed decreased depressed mood, state anxiety and regional pain immediately after the first and last sessions of the study and decreased depressed mood, state anxiety and regional pain at baseline from the first to the last session. Field, T., Delage, J. and Hernandez-Reif, M. (2003). Movement and massage therapy reduces fibromyalgia pain.Journal of Bodywork annd Movement Therapies,7, 49-52.
To read more about our therapy click here or to learn more about the general benefits of massage therapy click here
To see if you can receive similar or possibly even better results why not take us up on our offer of a free in-home demonstration.
Remember you have nothing to lose but your pain and just like many of our current clients in the years to come you could be reporting back to us your improved quality of life.
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Living with Fibromyalgia
Fibromyalgia Awareness