Fibromyalgia Treatment

What are the symptoms of fibromyalgia?

The most common symptoms include:

• Widespread Pain: Typically described as a constant dull ache lasting for at least three months, felt on both sides of the body, above and below the waist.
  
• Fatigue: People often wake up tired, even after long sleep, due to disrupted sleep patterns, sometimes linked to conditions like restless legs syndrome or sleep apnea.
  
• Cognitive Issues: Known as “fibro-fog,” this includes trouble concentrating, memory lapses, or mental sluggishness.
  
• Other Symptoms: Can include headaches, depression, anxiety, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and sensitivity to noise, light, or temperature.

How is fibromyalgia diagnosed?

There isn’t a settled diagnostic standard for it, but the general basis for diagnosis amongst doctors includes:

• Persisting widespread pain for three months or longer.
• Pain in at least 4-5 areas of the body.
• Eliminating other potential diagnoses, including arthritis or lupus.

What causes fibromyalgia?

An exact cause isn’t currently known, but factors that contribute to the condition and its symptoms include:

• Genetics
• Imbalance of neurotransmitters
• Infections
• Emotional stress

What are the treatment options for fibromyalgia?

Although there is no known cure, there are various treatments to help relieve symptoms, such as:

• Temporary pain medications
• Low-impact exercises like walking, swimming, or yoga
• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) or counseling
• Better sleep habits
• Stress reduction practices
• Dietary changes

Is fibromyalgia real, or is it all in my head?

Because there are no certain physical indicators to diagnose it, some question the legitimacy of the condition itself. However, the medical community has widely accepted it as a condition relating to the nervous system’s pain processing and thus diagnoses and implements treatments for patients who seem to suffer from it.

Can fibromyalgia be cured?

There are no known cures for this condition, although there are various ways that symptoms are treated.

Is there a link between fibromyalgia and other conditions like IBS?

A striking number of patients also deal with IBS, a disorder bringing abdominal pain, bloating, and erratic bowel habits. Studies peg the prevalence of IBS among fibromyalgia patients at 30-70%, a sharp contrast to the 10-15% seen in the general population. For instance, a 1999 study in the American Journal of Gastroenterology found that 31.6% of 79 IBS patients had fibromyalgia, compared to just 4.2% of controls, while up to 70% of fibromyalgia patients in other research reported IBS symptoms. More recently, a 2023 analysis using the U.S. National Inpatient Sample from 2016-2019 showed 10.73% of 1,256,325 IBS patients also had fibromyalgia—five times the odds compared to those without IBS.

Research indicates that 50% or more of fibromyalgia patients experience migraines, dwarfing the general population’s 12% prevalence. A 2006 study in BMC Gastroenterology reported 40-80% higher odds of migraines in IBS patients, and since IBS and fibromyalgia overlap so much, this likely extends to fibromyalgia cohorts. A 2015 review in Current Pain and Headache Reports noted up to 55% of fibromyalgia patients reporting migraines, reinforcing the link.

How does stress impact fibromyalgia?

When stress strikes, patients often report a surge in pain intensity and fatigue. A 2013 study published in Arthritis Research & Therapy found that perceived stress strongly correlates with increased pain severity in fibromyalgia sufferers, with 68% of 101 participants noting worse symptoms during stressful periods. This isn’t surprising—stress revs up the body’s fight-or-flight response, flooding it with cortisol and adrenaline, hormones that, in chronic excess, can sensitize pain pathways further. Since fibromyalgia involves central sensitization—where the brain and spinal cord overreact to pain signals—this hormonal spike likely turns the volume up on an already loud system.

Minimally Invasive Pain Treatment at The Pain Center

We’re here to provide the most cutting-edge, effective, and lasting chronic pain treatment in the industry, including pain relating to chronic conditions such as fibromyalgia.

We provide treatments including cortisone joint injections for patients experiencing joint-related pain.

Schedule a consultation with us today!