Why Fibromyalgia Sufferers Choose Chiropractic Over Traditional Medicine?

Fibromyalgia is a condition with no known medical cure. It is characterized by chronic and debilitating pain all over the body, and heightened pain under pressure. Its symptoms can cause patients to suffer from widespread pain, poor sleep, chronic tiredness and even depression. The causes of fibromyalgia are unknown. Some theories cite that the patient’s low pain threshold may be attributed to increased sensitivity in the brain to pain signals. [1] Other possible causes could be a genetic predisposition [2]; stress; the disruption of normal dopamine related neurotransmission [3]; abnormal serotonin levels [4] and deficient growth hormone secretion [5]. While there is currently no cure for the condition, its symptoms can be alleviated by chiropractic treatment.

Chiropractic treatment uses manipulation, which is a technique involving short and quick thrusts to the vertebrae in the spine to shift vertebrae back into their correct position. The treatment found in chiropractic care is based on the idea that illnesses and pain in the body arise from misalignments in the body’s skeletal structure. In order for the body to function healthily, the spine and the skeletal structure need to be set in the correct position – otherwise problems like chronic pain can arise.

Fibromyalgia causes numerous, tender points to occur all over the body, including back and neck pain and leg cramps. As a result of these symptoms, sufferers of fibromyalgia have sought treatment from chiropractors. Because the adjustments made during treatment help to restore the posture of the skeletal system, many sufferers find that treatment can help to reduce a significant amount of pain. Some fibromyalgia sufferers experience a condition known as cervical spinal stenosis, which results in compression of the spine’s meninges, which are the coverings of the upper spine. This can result in debilitating pain all over the body. A chiropractor may be able to help with cervical spinal stenosis by adjusting the spine around the head and neck, releasing this compression and eliminating the symptoms attributed to it.[6]

The effectiveness of chiropractic care has been studied in sufferers of fibromyalgia [6], where patients were asked which method of treatment, medical or alternative, helped the best with their condition. The majority voted for chiropractic treatment. In addition, the effectiveness was tested by using spinal manipulation to relieve fibromyalgia symptoms, and after 15 treatments, results concluded that patients had reduced fatigue and pain as well as improved sleep quality.

While fibromyalgia sufferers continue to look for a cure, it is great to know that there are ways to alleviate the symptoms and live a more normal life. If you or someone you know suffers from undiagnosed chronic pain or fibromyalgia, please share this article with them and encourage them to get a chiropractic consultation.

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References Used:

[1] Fibromyalgia. Accessed September 2011

[2] Buskila D, Sarzi-Puttini P (2006). "Biology and therapy of fibromyalgia. Genetic aspects of fibromyalgia syndrome". Arthritis Res Ther. 8 (5): 218. doi:10.1186/ar2005. PMC 1779444. PMID 16887010.

[3] Cervenka S, Pålhagen SE, Comley RA et al. (August 2006). "Support for dopaminergic hypoactivity in restless legs syndrome: a PET study on D2-receptor binding". Brain 129 (Pt 8): 2017–28.doi:10.1093/brain/awl163. PMID 16816393. Retrieved 2008-05-21.

[4] Moldofsky H, Scarisbrick P, England R, Smythe H (1975)."Musculoskeletal symptoms and non-REM sleep disturbance in patients with "fibrositis syndrome" and healthy subjects". Psychosom Med 37(4): 341–51. PMID 169541. Retrieved 2008-05-21.

[5] Anderberg UM, Liu Z, Berglund L, Nyberg F (1999). "Elevated plasma levels of neuropeptide Y in female fibromyalgia patients". Eur J Pain 3 (1): 19–30.

[6] Chiropractic Care and Fibromyalgia. Accessed September 2011

What Newark Chiropractors Can Do for You

Chiropractors have been around for a long, long time, centuries in fact. The field of chiropractic medicine has made many advances over the years as more information is coming to light. Newark chiropractic services perform spinal manipulations, among other things, but they do a lot more than simply relieve back pain or realign the spine. In fact, they can help you heal your whole body.

Discover Chiropractic can help you with your joints, back and neck, to relieve trauma to the joints, neck or spine, or to address other illnesses, like headaches (including migraines), digestive issues and sinus infections. Newark chiropractors receive extensive education and training so that they can help you heal yourself, without using drugs.

When you see a chiropractor, he or she will examine, diagnose and treat you so that you can return to good health. More than just people whom fix back and neck misalignments, they can diagnose what’s wrong with you so that you can receive the best treatment to return you to your normal life. Newark chiropractors can also give you advice and rehabilitative therapy, nutrition, exercise, diet, and can also coach you to adopt a better lifestyle.

Many of us can experience neck or back pain just because of everyday life. For example, if you sit all day at your desk at work, you stress your back and neck out considerably. This is especially true when it comes to your lower back. You can get back pain even if you’re very healthy just because you may have lifted something wrong, or because you’ve needed to sit for long periods time, or simply because you’ve moved wrong getting up out of bed in the morning. Because of that, it’s a very good thing indeed that Newark chiropractors can help you fix what ails you.

Many people all over the world use chiropractic services to help them manage or even cure a number of health issues, including the treatment of asthma and stopping smoking. Newark chiropractors can treat a number of ailments, successfully and without medication. If you need to find a family chiropractor or chiropractic clinic, just look through your local directory.

If you have health problems including unexplained and unwanted weight loss or gain, neck pain, back pain, headaches, sinus problems, allergies, asthma, digestive difficulties, ear infections, fibromyalgia, whiplash, sports injuries, injuries sustained in an accident, chronic illnesses like arthritis, and more, a Discover Chiropractic can take a history of your lifestyle, diagnose you accurately, treat your problem and get you going toward better health.