currently the exact mechanism that leads to fibromyalgia is yet to be elucidated.
Symptoms
The main symptoms associated with fibromyalgia include chronic extensive pain all over the body for more than 3 months accompanied with extreme fatigue, sleeping disorder, cognitive dysfunction, headache, irritable bowel syndrome etc.
Causes
People with fibromyalgia might have a lower pain threshold as a consequence of augmented reactivity of pain-sensitive nerve cells in the spinal cord or brain. Researchers have discovered that fibromyalgia is also associated with low levels of the hormones that comprises of serotonin, noradrenaline and dopamine in their brains.
It is widely believed that fibromyalgia could be attributed to multiple factors that include psychological stress trauma, depression, anxiety disorder, unhealthy lifestyles especially irregular sleep habit, after giving birth, post operation, injuries, genetic inheritance and certain infections etc.
Treatments
There is presently no cure for fibromyalgia however there are treatments typically devised to relieve symptoms. Fibromyalgia symptoms can be eased through medications, effective lifestyle changes and stress relief.
Medications that help to alleviate pain, improve sleep and energy level and treat depression etc.
It has been shown that adopting a routine exercise habit helps to effectively alleviate fibromyalgia.
You can start with simple exercise such as 10 minutes of walk or swim to gradually increase the duration and intensity of the exercise according to your strength.
Try to stay away from caffeine as it affects your sleep and it has been reported that consuming too much caffeinated drinks typically more than 3 cups is related to aggravated body ache issues in fibromyalgia.
TCM perspective
Fibromyalgia in TCM is classified under “Bi”-syndrome which means pain-syndrome.
We believe that internal body weakness is the underlying factor for fibromyalgia. Internal body weakness could be a consequence of inborn weak body constitution, unhealthy lifestyles, prolong emotional stimulation, natural degenerative process, recovery from ailments or after giving birth and over exhaustion.
Typically dysfunction in the liver, spleen and the kidney systems account for imbalances of the Qi, blood, Yin and Yang in our body and this leads to poor defense. As such our body is therefore susceptible to exogenous causative factors such as wind, cold, dampness and heat. These causative factors act in our body that lead to blockage of meridians which further weaken our body subsequently.
We will diagnose the condition accordingly and might suggest treatments such as acupuncture, cupping, tuina and or TCM herbal prescriptions. For those with inferior constitution, our treatments will be more focused on building up the body through boosting Qi, blood, Yin and Yang accordingly. If the exogenous causative factors are the main issues then the treatment will be directed at eliminating them.
Our ultimate aim is to bring back the harmonious balance within the body that effectively helps to improve our defense to deter external causative factors and we are able to withstand challenges better.
Hopefully my explanation above helps.
Best Regards.
