The cause of fibromyalgia is not known, but it can be effectively treated and managed. Some other factors have been weakly associated with the onset of fibromyalgia, but more research is needed to see if they are real. These possible risk factors include:. Fibromyalgia can be effectively treated and managed with medication and self-management strategies.
You can learn about self-management strategies in the section below titled How can I improve my quality of life? Fibromyalgia should be treated by a doctor or team of healthcare professionals who specialize in the treatment of fibromyalgia and other types of arthritis, called rheumatologists. Your occupational therapist may suggest new ways you can get things done. They may also teach you some relaxation techniques.
To find a private occupational therapist, visit the Royal College of Occupational Therapists website. Otherwise, you can contact a Jobcentre Plus office to ask for advice. Your doctor may recommend a course of acupuncture from a trained NHS healthcare professional, such as a physiotherapist, to help with your pain.
You may be able to receive this treatment at a local health centre or GP surgery. Acupuncture uses fine needles, inserted into several specific parts of the body to relieve pain. There is evidence to support its use in the short-term treatment of fibromyalgia. Though a course of treatments may only help for up to three months, it may help you start managing your condition.
Doctors will not recommend treatment with devices such as TENS machines, ultrasound or interferential therapy, because there is currently little evidence to support their use in treating fibromyalgia.
They can provide specific treatments or rehabilitation therapies that could reduce the effects of fibromyalgia. A pain specialist may suggest you join a pain management programme, which brings together people with different long-term pain conditions. These sessions are often led by psychologists who specialise in helping people find ways to live with their pain.
They are usually held in an outpatient clinic and run over several days or weeks. Pain is never just a physical experience, especially if it lasts a long time. Pain can affect your mood and behaviour. Psychological approaches to pain management try to address the emotional effects of your pain and the things that can make your pain worse. They help you look at how your pain affects your thoughts and habits, and how your emotions can affect your pain. Therapies such as cognitive behavioural therapy CBT , which is a talking therapy, try to reduce the overwhelming effect of problems such as stress, unhappiness and pain.
They aim to help you understand how you react to different problems by breaking them down into smaller, more manageable, chunks. This should help you change the way you react to them and the effect they have on you.
Making small changes to the way you react to a situation or problem can often improve both your emotional and physical health.
Psychological therapies can also include relaxation techniques and other ways to reduce your stress. They encourage you not to be too hard on yourself, even when you feel frustrated, and to accept that sometimes there are limits to what you can do. A number of healthcare professionals often have training in CBT, so you may not have to see a psychologist. Your doctor may only recommend drug treatment once you've tried options such as exercise, psychological therapy or acupuncture.
Before prescribing drugs to treat your pain, your doctor will discuss the benefits and risks of starting drug treatment. Antidepressants are regularly used to treat sleep problems and pain, as well as depression.
However, they can still help if your condition effects your mood. Antidepressants are now recommended by the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence NICE as the first choice of drug treatment for unexplained long-term, widespread pain, such as fibromyalgia. Some antidepressants can make you feel sleepy, so avoid taking them before you drive, cycle or use heavy machinery. You usually need to take them about two hours before bedtime. All drugs have potential side effects.
In the past people with fibromyalgia have been prescribed a variety of different types of drugs, such as:. If you are currently prescribed one of these drugs, your doctor is likely to want to discuss whether your condition could be treated differently in the future. More research is needed on the effects of diet on fibromyalgia, but making sure the diet is low in sugar and gluten is a good starting point. There is certainly no harm is trying these options to support treatment.
These are certain areas of the body in which fibromyalgia is said to cause the most pain. These include the back of the head, inner knees, and outer elbows. Pain can also be increased in the neck and shoulders, the outer hips, and the upper chest. Doctors used to diagnose fibromyalgia based on how they react to pressure at these points.
However, this is no longer seen as an accurate way to diagnose the condition, and tender points are no longer used as a reliable indicator of fibromyalgia. Injections are not advised at these points. However, the pain is now thought to be more widespread and present differently in different people.
Instead of specific areas or points of pain, fibromyalgia is identified by the severity and chronic nature of the pain. There is no definitive cure for fibromyalgia, but more treatment options and clearer diagnostic criteria are now available. What is fibromyalgia and what are fibromyalgia tender points?
Learn about the condition's additional signs and symptoms, complications, and treatments. Fibromyalgia is a chronic condition that causes pain in soft tissues and muscles all over the body. However, some people believe that fibromyalgia…. Fibromyalgia causes widespread pain and tenderness. While symptoms differ, many people report intense pain in the chest and ribcage. What is a fibromyalgia flare-up and what are the potential flare-up triggers? Fibromyalgia is a chronic illness that causes pain in the body's muscles, skin, and joints.
Researchers believe that the nervous systems of people with fibromyalgia are overly sensitive to pain. The FDA has approved three medications to treat fibromyalgia pain. Exercise helps patients loosen their muscles and joints and maintain flexibility.
Other lifestyle choices such as reducing stress and getting enough sleep can also help prevent pain. It's hard to live with fibromyalgia, especially since painful attacks can be unpredictable. Finding the right set of treatments takes time and experimentation. With dedication and practice, many do find relief. Just before you get your period, you may experience more severe symptoms, including body pain and headaches, when hormone levels go down.
Fatigue and insomnia may also worsen just before your period. No, fibromyalgia is not fatal. The mortality rate is about the same for those with and without fibromyalgia.
However, there does seem to be a greater risk for suicide and accidents for those suffering from fibromyalgia. Learn about treatment and lifestyle changes to cope with fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Last reviewed January 6, Levine D, Horesh D. Suicidality in fibromyalgia: a systematic review of the literature. Front Psychiatry. Cleveland Clinic. Fibromyalgia; symptoms, causes, treatment.
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