Fibromyalgia causes pain and fatigue all over the body

Fibromyalgia causes pain all over the body

What is fibromyalgia? According to World Health Organization (WHO), it is a ‘disease of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue’. Fibromyalgia affects up to 7% of the general population in the USA where women are more prone to develop this disorder than men. The economic impact is also high where total direct patient costs can rise annually up to $35,920. (D'Onghia M. et al., 2022) (Bhargava J. et Hurley J., 2022)

What are the symptoms?

Fibromyalgia symptoms include mainly pain, but also sleeping problems and fatigue. Patients frequently present mental problems such as anxiety or depression. It's also possible to have other conditions alongside your fibromyalgia namely irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), extreme sensitivity, muscle stiffness and cognitive problems. Pain is usually widespread throughout the body or at least at multiple sites in patients (fibromyalgia pain points) and it’s typically described as burning, aching, or throbbing.

What causes this pathology?

It’s still unknown what causes fibromyalgia exactly. Certain chemicals in the brain, genetic predisposition or previous experience with pain due to injury or rheumatic condition are the most discussed triggering reasons. Metabolic characteristics play a role in fibromyalgia symptoms where a study by Cakit et al. (2021) shows that metabolic syndrome may increase the severity of fibromyalgia syndrome.

How to handle it?

Fibromyalgia treatment typically includes several approaches where a healthy lifestyle plays an important role. At first, the clinicians should educate the patients to fully understand their illness before prescribing medications. Regular physical activity in patients combats pain and fatigue. It increases energy levels and improves the quality of sleep. Personalized exercise programs for fibromyalgia including both aerobic exercise and strength training significantly help patients to have a better quality of life.

As mental problems are often presented within fibromyalgia symptoms (the lifetime prevalence of depression is 74% and anxiety is 60%), thus psychological help is highly recommended. Learning relaxation techniques should be a part of their daily routine. (Bhargava J. et Hurley J., 2022). Physical therapy may help ease the symptoms of pain. Effective therapies are the ones that relieve soreness and stiffness from fibromyalgia by boosting blood flow to places where it hurt together with washing out the metabolites.

Fibromyalgia Awareness Association guideline recommends manual therapies, stretching techniques, joint mobilization and application of heat among effective treatments of fibromyalgia. All of the previously mentioned effects and techniques we can achieve with TR-Therapy, a device that combines the therapist’s manual skills and tissue-selective heating.

TR-Therapy helps with this pathology

TR-Therapy (Targeted Radiofrequency Therapy) combines the therapist’s manual skills and tissue-selective heating through radiofrequency current. Based on the selected intensity, it causes thermic and athermic effects which relieve pain through muscle relaxation, range of motion improvement, oedema reduction and also tissue regeneration. The pleasant perception of heat and the ionic movement produced by the pulsed radiofrequency current relieve muscle stiffness and soreness by increasing metabolism and eliminating accumulated metabolites in fibromyalgia pain points.

It is commonly known that moderate-pressure manual massage techniques elicit a parasympathetic nervous system response. Activation of the parasympathetic nervous system is also really important for the patient’s general well-being. It improves tissue regeneration, sleep quality and body and mind state - thus improving all the fibromyalgia symptoms.