This FM Doesn't Play the Tunes You Like to Hear

by Dr. Dave Edenfield

Fibromyalgia otherwise known as FM is a painful condition that affects the muscles and soft tissues of the body.  Afflicting some 5.8 million Americans, everything from chronic muscle pain to joint stiffness, fatigue and sleep related disorders can be attributed to this syndrome. Many sufferers report localized tenderness, difficulty swallowing and even bladder and bowel complications.  While the exact cause of this malady is unknown, there is evidence that everything from environmental factors and psychological issues to genetic predisposition and neurological factors can be at the heart of FM.

Affecting nine times as many women as men, those who experience the condition may not even be

English: The location of the nine paired tender points that comprise the 1990 American College of Rheumatology criteria for fibromyalgia. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

aware they have FM due to the fact that symptoms often overlap with other maladies and/or diseases.  Most commonly it presents itself as body-wide pain and tenderness in the joints, muscles, and tendons.  Those who suffer from FM sometimes liken it to experiencing a toothache over their entire body. 

“In a study of 94 adolescents with JFM and 33 healthy controls, researchers found that symptoms in patients persisted into adulthood in more than 80% of cases. Data also show that more than half of the JFM patients met American College of Rheumatology criteria for adult fibromyalgia within 6 years, at a mean age of 21 years. Compared with controls, JFM patients had significantly more pain, worse physical function, more anxiety, more depression, and more medical visits at 6-year follow-up, and only 14 of the 94 patients were free of pain.” 

While this syndrome has been known for at least three hundred years, it wasn’t even recognized by the American Medical Association as an affliction until 1987.  In fact the disorder is still hotly debated to this day, especially among physicians, many of whom point out that there is still no definitive test that can categorically diagnose FM  However those who suffer from fibromyalgia know all too well how debilitating the condition can be.

What is known is that a number of other conditions can be associated with this syndrome, including depression, hypothyroidism, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, physical or emotional trauma, sleep disorders, arthritis and even Lyme disease.  While the syndrome is often considered to be related to arthritis, it does not cause joint or muscle inflammation as does arthritis.  However, it can cause significant pain and has been known to interfere with a sufferer’s lifestyle.

Turning Down the Music

Unlike other strictly physical conditions such as arthritis or carpal tunnel syndrome, FM has a strong association with the central nervous system. As such a person so afflicted tends to have a heightened nervous system response that produces many of the syndromes symptoms. .  (A recent discovery is that many people with FM have an overabundance of a chemical in their cerebrospinal fluid that transmits pain.) While science continues to strive to better understand fibromyalgia, those afflicted are interested in stopping the pain.  

Traditional medicine relies for the most part on a combination of analgesics and Non-steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) to relieve the symptoms.  While affective over the short term, the long term use over-the-counter analgesics can cause stomach irritation, while long term use of NSAIDs has been known to adversely affect kidney function. For more on this go to http://www.niams.nih.gov/Health_info/Fibromyalgia/default.asp#e

Diagnosing FM

Of course, before FM can be treated it needs to be diagnosed.  To do so, chiropractors will typically perform a physical assessment that will take into consideration a patient’s spinal alignment, along with the 18 pain points typically associated with the syndrome.  Those who have fibromyalgia will usually experience pain when much less pressure is applied to some or all of these spots.  It is this heightened sensation of pain that is a real clue that FM might be to blame for a patient’s discomfort.  (Studies have shown that those with FM have anomalies with the production of neurotransmitters or even in some cases of nerve growth.)

Based upon the chiropractor’s evaluation, treatment begins by first correcting any spinal misalignments that can cause central nervous dysfunction.  Add to this other healing therapies such as massage, cold laser treatment, along with exercises and possible alterations in diet. Once the pain has been reduced, your chiropractor will also address any other problems you are experiencing such as fatigue or sleep-related problems and/or depression. 

Worst of all is the fact that FM can go untreated for years because of misdiagnosis.  More than half of those misdiagnosis result in needlessly invasive treatments such as surgery, most of which provide little or no relief.  One of the reasons that so many fibromyalgia patients suffer needlessly has to do with the fact that the disorder affects every patient differently.  If you feel you or someone you know has FM, make an appointment to see your local chiropractor as soon as possible.  Especially if you or they have been to other physicians who do not recognize or know how to treat this debilitating syndrome, the best way to turn down the volume on FM is to find someone who knows this tune by heart.

Dr. Dave Edenfield  and Dr. Steven Warfield are part of the team of doctors and therapists at http://chiropractic-jacksonville-fl.com and http://endyourpain.org who are dedicated to helping you and your family lead  healthier, happier and pain-free lives.