Fibromyalgia symptoms are caused by a chronic pain disorder affecting 4 million Americans ages 18 and older. Although it is more common for Americans with fibromyalgia to be diagnosed at ages 35 to 45 years old, most of them have had fibromyalgia symptoms starting much earlier in life. Those who have fibromyalgia have widespread pain and tenderness very sensitive to touch that will come and go and move around the body. Those who have chronic (long-term) fibromyalgia often feel fatigued and undergo problems sleeping.
Because it is more common to be diagnosed at ages 35 to 45 even when you have it much earlier, it is important to recognize fibromyalgia symptoms and if you do have fibromyalgia symptoms, it is best to seek treatment right away before it worsens over time. When fibromyalgia is left untreated, the chronic pain could cause permanent changes about how your body perceives pain and worsen your fibromyalgia symptoms.
The most common fibromyalgia symptoms include the following:
- Pain and tender points – This fibromyalgia symptom is usually what causes sufferers to see their doctor. The pain is almost like tendinitis, osteoarthritis, and bursitis. The only difference is those with fibromyalgia ache all over the body.
- Problems with peeing – Problems with peeing include the feeling of having to go a lot or having a leaky bladder. Urination can also hurt or be uncomfortable.
- Irritable bowel syndrome – Those who have this fibromyalgia symptom will often experience belly pain, bloating, gas, constipation, diarrhea, or feel like throwing up.
- Fatigue – When experiencing fatigue, simple tasks become very exhausting. Those who experience this fibromyalgia symptom feel completely drained after folding laundry, cooking a dinner, or become too tired to exercise.
- Sleep problems – Those who happen to fall asleep can be easily disturbed, never reaching a deep sleep. Because of this, when they wake up, they still feel tired and having sleeping problems just adds to the fatigue.
- Morning stiffness – After getting out of bed, those who have this fibromyalgia symptom feel as if they need to “loosen up” right away before their day starts. The muscles and joints of the back, arms, and legs are affected, and the stiffness involved is compared to those who have rheumatoid arthritis. The amount of time morning stiffness can last will differ from person to person, lasting anywhere from a couple of minutes to hours, or all day long.
- Headaches – Tension headaches and migraines are very common fibromyalgia symptoms affecting up to 2 out of 5 people. This symptom is often caused by your tight neck muscles but may be caused by the pain in your upper back or tender points as well.
- Mood disorders – Depression and anxiety disorders affect about 50% of those diagnosed with fibromyalgia. As other fibromyalgia symptoms, such as pain and fatigue, start affecting your life it can be hard to cope with. This leads to having trouble keeping up with daily life and making it stressful. There is also a possibility that having the fibromyalgia symptoms depression and anxiety are as much part of fibromyalgia as the pain.
- Restless Legs Syndrome – Restless legs syndrome affects the legs below your knees and your feet, making you feel uncomfortable. This can be very bothersome, as you feel the need to keep moving your legs to rest them and if this fibromyalgia symptom is experienced at night, it could keep you from sleeping
- Numbness and tingling in hands, arms, feet, and legs – This fibromyalgia symptom happens quite randomly and may last for a few minutes or become constant. It is also possible to have swelling in these areas and while the feelings of having this fibromyalgia symptom can be bothersome, it usually doesn’t get in the way of things.
- Concentration or memory problems, also known as “fibro fog” – One of the most common complaints out of the fibromyalgia symptoms with some sufferers expressing fibro fog to be more of a disability than the other physical symptoms. Fibro fog affects your ability to think, leading to confusion, memory difficulty, and losing concentration.
- Painful menstrual cramps – These cramps can be unusually painful for women with fibromyalgia and women may have this symptom for years along with other existing fibromyalgia symptoms.
A Natural Treatment for Fibromyalgia?
If you or a loved one is experiencing one or a few of these fibromyalgia symptoms, it is best to seek help right away for a higher chance of overcoming fibromyalgia. Those who are diagnosed with this chronic pain disorder are often under treatments that help them manage their fibromyalgia symptoms rather than healing or keeping their fibromyalgia from getting worse. In order for your body to succeed in its battle against fibromyalgia, it needs to be corrected from the inside.
Upper cervical chiropractors help your body fight against these battles with chronic pain by correcting the position of the two upper bones of your spine located just under the base of the skull. When your upper cervical spine is corrected, your brain stem is no longer compressed; this opens and regulates the communication from your brain to the rest of the body to assist in its healing process.
If your brain stem is compressed, the communication is disrupted leading to mixed signals of pain when there is no pain which could lead to fibromyalgia.
Upper cervical care has been a very successful treatment for many fibromyalgia patients. If you feel you have or are diagnosed with fibromyalgia, upper cervical may be the natural and safe alternative you are looking for.