Fibromyalgia and its effects on health
Fibromyalgia is a chronic disease that is characterized by causing widespread pain and deep fatigue, in addition to other symptoms. As its name suggests, fibromyalgia affects the fibrous tissues and muscles of the body with pain. This is a word composed of the words 'fibro', 'mios', and 'algia', which mean: fibrous tissue, muscles and pain.
Although for a long time it was believed that it was a disease similar to arthritis, it is not like that. Fibromyalgia does not affect the joints, causing pain or swelling, but soft tissues. It is a pathology that commonly affects women during the stage of adulthood, but can also affect men, children and the elderly.
Causes of Fibromyalgia
The causes of fibromyalgia have not yet been identified, but it is thought to be due to an alteration in the nervous system, more precisely in neurotransmitters, that is, the molecules that are responsible for transmitting information between neurons.
In the body there are ways that transmit and modulate the pain, when these suffer an alteration it gives rise to the symptoms of Fibromyalgia: pain, pressure, heat, tingling, among others.
Symptoms of Fibromyalgia
The most common physical manifestations of fibromyalgia are:
- Muscle pain: It is a chronic and lasting pain, sometimes can be felt for 3 months or more, and occurs in different parts of the body.
- **Fatigue: **People who suffer from fibromyalgia get tired too much without making greater efforts. This physical exhaustion is not solved when resting or sleeping.
- Rigidity: It is a very common symptom in rheumatic diseases, but fibromyalgia usually occurs in the morning when you wake up. People suffering from these diseases can feel inflammation, cramps, numbness and contractures, as well as tremor and other involuntary movements.
- Sleep disorders:This disease causes many problems in sleep, both to reconcile it and to maintain a full night's sleep. It is common for those suffering from this disease to wake up several times during the night as they maintain a light sleep.
- Cognitive impairment: Patients begin to feel that they have problems memorizing and processing information in the mind.
- Depression: The states of anxiety and depression are also common in this disease, but usually occur as a result of the symptoms mentioned above.
Diagnosis
To diagnose fibromyalgia, the patient needs to undergo clinical tests that evaluate symptoms such as stiffness, pain and sleep problems to verify that they are not caused by other disorders or diseases.
Although there is no clinical examination that can clearly diagnose fibromyalgia, since laboratory and imaging tests give a normal result, they can eliminate the possibility of other diseases such as arthritis or lupus.
The diagnosis can be confirmed in an exploration that identifies 18 pain points common in Fibromyalgia, such as the knee, neck, elbow, among others.
Treatment for fibromyalgia
There is still no treatment to cure fibromyalgia. Since their causes are not clearly known, they can not be treated, but through treatments patients can alleviate the pain and thus maintain a better quality of life.
The treatment to relieve fibromyalgia consists of pharmacological medications, psychological therapies and physical exercise:
- Drugs: Treatment includes the supply of anti-inflammatories and analgesics. Anti-convulsants and antidepressants can also be added to improve the symptoms of depression, fatigue and problems with sleep.
- Psychological therapies: Therapy with psychologists is required so that the patient can go through the process of the disease with the correct attitude, avoiding depression. Also in this area you can resort to hypnosis to treat pain.
- Physical exercise: It is necessary that people suffering from Fibromyalgia perform a sport or physical exercise in a habitual way.
