Fibromyalgia – Get a Closer Look at the Symptoms, Causes, and Treatments

Fibromyalgia – Get a Closer Look at the Symptoms, Causes, and Treatments

Fibromyalgia is a chronic condition wherein the person suffering from it feels constant muscle pain. Also known as fibrositis, fibromyalgia is often compared with rheumatoid which is the arthritis-type disorder. However, in fibromyalgia, there is no damage caused to the joints, muscles, or any other tendons or tissues but only severe muscle pain. People suffering from fibromyalgia often complain about a constant, sharp sense of pain.

People suffering this chronic muscle ache fear that this health issue might worsen with time. But it is necessary to understand that fibromyalgia is not a progressive disease and does not become worse and affect any other part of your body over the period of time.

There is no particular cure for fibromyalgia available yet, but there are surely some treatments that can help reduce the chronic pain and improve your quality of life.

It is important to know the fibromyalgia symptoms in order to know when to consult a doctor and get the associated treatments. However, before we get into the different types of fibromyalgia symptoms, let us look at what are the causes of fibromyalgia and other related risks.

Prevalence of fibromyalgia
One of the most common chronic pain issues, fibromyalgia affects a large number of adults in the US. As per the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, there are about 5 million adults in the country who are affected by fibromyalgia. Fibromyalgia can occur both in men and women but is more prevalent in women. As per the National Fibromyalgia & Chronic Pain Association, anywhere between 75 to 90% of women are affected by fibromyalgia. The fibromyalgia symptoms can show up at any age but is mostly seen when a person is middle aged. However, in some cases, fibromyalgia can affect children too.

Causes of fibromyalgia
The cause of fibromyalgia is not exactly known to the researchers. However, it has often been concluded that a person suffers from fibromyalgia when the central nervous system of the body is unable to process the sense of pain.
When a person suffers from any type of physical trauma, injury, illness, infection, etc., the symptoms of fibromyalgia begin to occur. There have been reports stating that fibromyalgia symptoms may also be triggered due to some spontaneous events. The development of this disorder can also be independent of any physical trauma at times. Therefore, it is necessary to trace the cause as well as the symptoms of fibromyalgia to determine the effective treatments.

Family health history also plays a part in showing fibromyalgia symptoms in a person; genetics, too, play a crucial role. Families that have the history of fibromyalgia puts one at the greater risk of getting this disorder.

Some of the other health issues that can occur with fibromyalgia:

  • Migraine
  • Irritable bowel syndrome
  • Anxiety or depression
  • Obstructive sleep apnea
  • Temporomandibular joint syndrome, which causes jaw pain
  • Problem in the vision
  • Neurological problems

Fibromyalgia symptoms
It has been observed that fibromyalgia symptoms may strengthen as per the time of the day. Most often, the pain tends to be severe in the evenings. Therefore, fibromyalgia symptoms also tend to get worse with other issues such as tension, fatigue, weather changes, overexertion, hormonal changes such as menopause, and depression, to name a few.

In case, these issues are not diagnosed on time and are left untreated, the fibromyalgia symptoms may get worse and recur.

Some of the symptoms of fibromyalgia:

  • Muscle spasms, chronic muscle pain, tightness in the muscle
  • Loss of energy and fatigue
  • Facial tenderness
  • The person might feel swelling in the hands and feet; however, this is not actual swelling
  • Frequent urination and irritable bladder
  • Constant muscle pain without exercise
  • Abdominal pain
  • Bloating
  • Nausea
  • Constipation that can also include diarrhea due to irritable bowel syndrome
  • Numbness in the hand, legs, face, etc.
  • A person can also generate sensitivity towards certain food items, odors, medications, or cold weather conditions.

What are the best ways of treating fibromyalgia?
Once you know about fibromyalgia symptoms, you can understand how severe the pain is and then treat it accordingly. It is highly advisable that one should visit the doctor immediately if the pain continues even after taking the prescribed medications.

Pain relievers
One can take pain relievers as this is can be an effective measure. Your doctor will give you prescribed medications for the muscle pain. Also, antidepressants can help in relieving severe pain and fatigue. Be sure to consult a doctor before you take any form of medications or treatments on your own.

Yoga
Yoga can be helpful in improving the mood and release stress and depression. One can practice yoga or meditate for at least for 30 minutes.

Acupuncture
Acupuncture has always been an effective treatment for relieving pain. The process of acupuncture includes pricking needles in the skin, which helps in self-healing, encourages blood flow, and treats chronic pain.

Related Reading

Tips for Buying the Best Dog Food

Tips for Buying the Best Dog Food

Most of the dogs do not have a food fuss and may eat almost anything that you feed them. Dogs are not choosy at all when it comes to food and nutrition. Hence, it is important to make sure that the food that you are purchasing for your dog is healthy. The landscape of dog food has been developing by leaps and bounds in recent times. There is a wide variety of options to choose from in the online and offline market. Given the wide range of options that are available today, buying the best dog food might seem to be a confusing task indeed. All the commercial pet food that is available in the market today is regulated by the FDA. Therefore, most of the products do contain nutritious, healthy, and safe ingredients. But it does help to know certain basic factors you should look for while buying food for your dog. Prioritize on the nutritional guarantee The best dog food, which meets the dog’s needs adequately has a statement written on the label of the product, from the Association of American Feed Control Officials. Buy from some of the best dog food brands, such as Fromm Family Foods, Earthborn Holistic, Nature’s Variety Instinct, and The Honest Kitchen.
Different Types of Kitchen Cabinets Available for Your Home

Different Types of Kitchen Cabinets Available for Your Home

The most important aspect when designing your kitchen is deciding on the type of cabinets. In addition to functionality, kitchen cabinets score on aesthetics as well. Once the layout is planned, you can go ahead with choosing the cabinets. If you’re remodeling your home or just the kitchen, what you need to consider are the types of cabinets that furnish your kitchen. Here are a few types of kitchen cabinets that you can choose from. Base cabinets These kitchen cabinets are mounted on the floor and they are placed after checking out the floor plan. A major part of your job in the kitchen is on these base cabinets, which hold and support the countertops. These base cabinets are combined to carve out kitchen islands. A number of base cabinets are fused/set against one another and installed on site. The base cabinets, in addition to supporting the countertops, serve as drawers to hold your cutlery and appliances. Wall cabinets Mounted on the walls, these cabinets can store everything, right from your cookware to cookbooks. In terms of design, they offer utmost flexibility. Wall cabinet kitchen is available in varying heights, multiple widths, and custom depth options. This customization helps you to fit in your stuff of varying shapes and sizes into the wall cabinets.
How to Pick the Right Dog Food for a Sensitive Stomach

How to Pick the Right Dog Food for a Sensitive Stomach

In today’s world, where you are presented with over a dozen choices for every item you would purchase for your own kitchen, it is not surprising that you have an equal number of options for your dog’s food. However, choosing the perfect brand and formula for your dog out of a range of options in the market is not an easy job. Your pet depends on you and trusts you to make the right choice for them. Therefore, it is imperative that you do your research about the products available in the market, understand what your dog needs, know what might be your pet’s problems, and then make a sound decision. What is a sensitive stomach? Dogs are known to have voracious and large appetites. Keeping that in mind, it is normal to assume that they have strong stomachs. They can eat close to anything be it sweets, bakes, chewy gum, hard leather or even woolen socks for that matter! It always so happens that the strongest of them are prone to allergies and can develop a disorder which is medically translated as a sensitive stomach. This might be due to a sudden change in the food habits or even due an infection picked up from somewhere.
All You Need to Know about Cat Food

All You Need to Know about Cat Food

For cat owners, cat food is a hot topic. You need to think about it in different aspects. The best thing is to know which ingredients are good for cat food and which are harmful. If you are aware of this, you can get an idea about the quality of the cat food just by going through the label. It is always sensible to stick to one brand of cat food. However, you may also want to try and prepare cat food yourself. There are also various options for wet cat food as well. Cat’s love for fish is universal, so you can do without going for expensive cat food. Nevertheless, whether you buy it or prepare cat food at home, you need to ensure that the food contains enough nutrition and calories. You would need to have some idea about the ingredients that must be present in cat food and make a worthy selection for your cat. Basic ingredients present in good cat foods Cats need a variety of nutrients to stay healthy and active; they need various vitamins, minerals, fats, proteins, and oils. The following is a brief explanation of the basic ingredients that should be present in cat foods.