The 3 Types of Treatments for Fibromyalgia

If you are one of the millions of people who suffer from fibromyalgia, you know how difficult it can be to manage your symptoms. There are many different treatment options available, but which one is right for you? In this blog post, we will discuss the three most common types of treatment for fibromyalgia: physical, neurological, and metabolic treatments.

What is Fibromyalgia?

Fibromyalgia is a chronic disorder that causes widespread pain and tenderness in the muscles, joints, and tissues. It can lead to sleep problems, fatigue, and often emotional and mental distress. Fibromyalgia affects about 4 million US adults. 

Risks of Developing Fibromyalgia

There are several risk factors that can increase your chances of developing fibromyalgia. These include:

• Having a family member with the disorder
• Being female (Fibromyalgia is diagnosed three times more often in women than men)
• Having another chronic pain condition such as arthritis
• Experiencing psychological trauma or stress

Common Symptoms of Fibromyalgia

The most common symptom of fibromyalgia is widespread pain. This pain is often described as a dull ache that spreads throughout the body. Other common symptoms include:

Common symptoms of fibromyalgia include:

• Pain and stiffness all over the body
• Fatigue and tiredness
• Problems with thinking, memory, and concentration (sometimes called “fibro fog”)
• Depression and anxiety
• Headaches, including migraines
• Irritable bowel syndrome
• Numbness or tingling in the hands and feet
• Pain in the face or jaw, including disorders of the jaw know as temporomandibular joint syndrome (TMJ)
• Sleep problems

Causes

The consistent factor that determines the development of fibromyalgia is stress, in the form of physical, emotional, and/or chemical stress.

• Physical Stress from car accidents, falls, bumps, or bruises.
• Emotional Stress due to financial difficulties, a failed marriage, abuse, or difficulties at work.
• Chemical Stress from alcohol, tobacco, and/or sugar- junk food.

The 3 Types of Treatments for Fibromyalgia

It is often thought that Fibromyalgia is manageable, but ultimately progressive and permanent. Conventional medical treatment involves pharmaceutical drugs, with its attendant risks and side effects. Fortunately, the truth is that Fibromyalgia is treatable and reversible. At Texas Spine and Sports Therapy Center, we offer 3 types of treatments that heal and provide relief without surgery or drugs: physical, neurological, and metabolic treatments.

1. Physical

Our physical treatments include:

• Therapeutic massage: This manipulates the muscles and soft tissues of the body and helps ease deep muscle pain. It also helps relieve pain of tender points, muscle spasms, and tense muscles.
• Myofascial Release Therapy: This works on a broader range of muscles, and can gently stretch, soften, lengthen, and realign the connective tissue to ease discomfort.
• Trigger Point Therapy: This can alleviate the knots in your muscle fibers that have gone into spasms.
• Cold Laser Therapy: This stimulates tissues into healing and decreases pain sensations. A study of 846 fibromyalgia sufferers in 1997 and reported in the Journal of Clinical Laser Medicine and Surgery revealed that two-thirds of the group experienced less pain and more mobility following cold laser therapy. Another study in Rheumatology International in 2002 reported significant improvement in pain, fatigue and morning stiffness after cold laser therapy.

2. Neurological

Our neurological treatments include:

• Oxygen therapy: Oxygen is fuel for your brain and nervous system. Your brain and nervous system need two things to survive…..fuel and activation. Fuel comes in the form of OXYGEN AND GLUCOSE. By using oxygen, we will help you heal faster. By using exercise with oxygen therapy (EWOT), we can increase firing to the brain. By increasing firing of the brain, we help MANY chronic conditions. (Oxygen therapy is ordered by our M.D.)
• Brain-Based Therapy (BBT): We use specific brain-based therapy such as:
• Interactive Metronome: Computer-b
• based program that uses visual, auditory and motor stimulation to increase firing of the brain. 
• Vibration Therapy: Vibration fires the back part of the brain called the cerebellum. One of the functions of the cerebellum is control of the spinal muscle. We may also use auditory, visual, olfactory, and caloric stimulation to increase firing of the brain.
• Light Therapy: We use one of the most advanced systems available today to aid in healing.
• Non-surgical Spinal Decompression: NSSD creates a negative disc pressure and helps to remove pressure off of the nerve. It also provides a slow stretch of the muscles which fires up the spinal cord to increase firing of the brain.

3. Metabolic

We can also provide tailored metabolic treatments based on the following blood tests: thyroid panel, complete metabolic panel (CMP), lipid panel, and CBC (complete blood chemistry with auto differential). We can assess your thyroid, adrenal, blood, and gut function. All can be affected with chronic health conditions. By addressing any problems with your thyroid, adrenal glands, blood chemistry, or gut function, we can help you to heal faster. The CMP allows us to check your blood glucose levels since glucose and oxygen are needed by the brain to function properly.

Make an Appointment with Texas Spine and Sports Therapy Center

If you are suffering from fibromyalgia, don’t give up hope. There are treatments available that can help you get your life back. At Texas Spine and Sports Therapy Center, we offer a variety of physical, neurological, and metabolic treatments that can help to ease your pain. Contact us today to learn more!