Fibromyalgia Syndrome (FMS) is a chronic condition. The patient has muscular pain and tenderness throughout the body and frequently other symptoms like sleep disturbances, fatigue, hearing disturbances, muscle twitches, cold extremities, headaches and migraines, TMJ syndrome and blurred vision.
What Causes Fibromyalgia?
Fibromyalgia Syndrome is one of the most frustrating and disabling conditions known today. It appears to affect primarily women. But what causes it? Note the word “syndrome” in the name. “Syndrome” means that the condition is a collection of symptoms for which scientists have discovered no cause… until now.
In a 2006 interview, Dr. D. Clauw, M.D., director of the Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center at the University of Michigan said he found through using functional MRI’s that fibromyalgia is a disease of the central nervous system, rather than a disorder of the areas where the pain or symptoms happen to be. Dr. Clauw has shown that fibromyalgia is a problem with the function of the brain and nervous system, and “not a problem in the joints or muscles.”
What is the “Medical Solution” for Fibromyalgia?
There is no known medical cure for Fibromyalgia – the only treatment is aimed at reducing symptoms, although most experts agree that medicine has a very limited effectiveness.
Drugs that are given include a variety of over-the-counter and prescription pain killer, tricyclic antidepressants, and tender point injections, each of which comes with an assortment of adverse reactions, and long-term damage to the body.
What Do You Think Would Happen if the Body Could Function Better?
If the body is indeed a self-healing and self-regulating organism then it would follow that by removing interference to the body's control centers and the communication network that the body should be able to better recognize itself, regulate its functions, and heal itself.
Twenty-one rheumatology patients ages 25-70 suffering from fibromyalgia were studied to demonstrate the effect of Chiropractic care on the condition. The objective of the study was to demonstrate the effectiveness of Chiropractic management for fibromyalgia patients using reported pain levels, range of motion, strength, flexibility, tender points, muscle pain score and perceived functional ability as outcome measures. The subjects had four weeks of Chiropractic care. The results revealed that Chiropractic management improved the patient’s ranges of motion and their ability to stretch their legs. All of the subjects reported improved pain levels following the short period of care.
In a 1986 study of 81 fibromyalgia patients a structured questionnaire was used to determine the efficacy of Chiropractic for fibromyalgia. Dr. F. Wolfe, M.D., the chief researcher, wrote, “In our current series, we asked patients to indicate if a drug or treatment had reduced their pain… of interest is that patients reported more benefits from “life-style” modifications.” These lifestyle modifications included rest, relaxation, and Chiropractic care. He went on, “I think there’s nothing we’ve seen since that time (previous study) to change our minds that Chiropractic treatment ranks among the most effective measures”.
Chiropractic is not a treatment for fibromyalgia. Chiropractic removes interference to the master control system of the body, the nervous system. Without interference the body can better recognize itself, express itself more appropriately in the environment, function better, and heal itself.