Fibromyalgia

Fibromyalgia is a chronic condition in which the patient suffers from extreme pain whenever he puts pressure on his ligaments. The cause of the disease is not known and the doctors think that there might be a whole host of reasons why a person might contract this disorder. The factors that can lead to a person becoming a patient of fibromyalgia can be psychological, neurological and even environmental. Even though there is no known cure available for it yet the disease is treatable and there are various forms of treatment available for the patients suffering from this chronic disease. . 

Descriptions

Fibromyalgia is most commonly found in women and nearly half of the patients that are diagnosed with this disorder are women. When compared to men, women are 10 times more likely to contract this disease. The age when the women are most likely to develop the first symptoms of this disease is between 25 and 60. Fibromyalgia is a hard disease to diagnose and is often confused with many other diseases. The pain felt by a patient in this disorder is largely misunderstood to be a result of fatigue and is thus not given the proper treatment in the earlier stages.  

Types

Fibromyalgia can be of many types depending on the main cause which led to the patient developing the symptoms of the disease. The most common of these types is the one caused due to having suffered a traumatic event for instance a car crash. The injuries sustained from these accidents develop muscle pain which can worsen overtime. Another type of fibromyalgia is the one caused due to a repetitive injury wherein the muscles get worn out and become shorter in size because of continually scarring. There are other types of fibromyalgia too which are caused due to mood or hormone issues and because of chronic diseases like rheumatoid arthritis.   

Symptoms

One of the reasons why fibromyalgia is so hard to diagnose is because of the various amounts of symptoms that are associated with it. The most obvious symptom is the pain itself which is extremely debilitating in nature and does not go away no matter how much you rest yourself. The pain is sometimes accompanied with numbness and tingling sensations as well. In addition to the never ending pain felt by the patient in exercising his muscles, fatigue and depression are also felt in equal measure. The fatigue felt is so incapacitating that the patient tends to remain indoors all the time and extricates himself from the outside world. Trouble in sleeping at night and irregular bowel movements are also among the symptoms that the patient has to contend with in this disorder.

Treatments

The treatment strategy for fibromyalgia patients is focused on treating the symptoms and improving the quality of life of the patient. Since the muscle pain is the biggest concern of the patient thus the main focus is on how to relieve it. For this purpose the use of pain medications like analgesics is prescribed. In the beginning the patient is given low grade painkillers like Tylenol but if the pain is unrelenting then the physician might recommend the use of NSAIDs. For anxiety relief, antidepressants are also prescribed so that the patient might not get frustrated with the pain and can sleep without problem. Besides the drugs, several exercises are also suggested to promote the strength of the muscels and are an essential component of the treatment plan.  

Diet

Keeping checks on the diet is another form of treatment that the doctors advise patients of fibromyalgia. It is common that the patient of this disease might be sensitive to certain foods and eating them would aggravate his symptoms. These foods include eggs, dairy products and gluten. However, each patient has a different set of foods he is allergic to and thus it is best that the patient keeps a food chart and check whether eating a particular food item increases his pain or not. Aside from this, patient of fibromyalgia are usually told to take a healthy balanced diet that includes all the necessary nutrients to keep their bodies functioning properly.    

Remedies

Fibromyalgia patients can also make use of home remedies as well to reduce their symptoms of pain and stress. There are many herbs available in the market that are said to be very good for pain relief. In addition to this, supplements can als