Nearly one in fifty Americans suffers from the symptoms, chronic pain, fatigue, and stress/depression of fibromyalgia. There currently is no cure for fibromyalgia, so many people accept that they have to live with it and don’t even bother to try to treat it.
They end up living miserable lives in bed, since their work performance is greatly hindered and they aren’t able to do as many things as they previous were. If you suffer from fibromyalgia, you cannot let this happen to you.
Chances are you’ve looked at various medical treatments for fibromyalgia. Many of these medicines do work, but in order for the treatment to be as successful as it can be, you’ll have to combine those medicines with natural treatments as well. This article will outline and discuss the various natural treatments there are for fibromyalgia, so that you can select the one(s) that will work the best for you.
Vitamin D
Making sure that you get plenty of Vitamin D is a major natural treatment for fibromyalgia. A common correlation has been found in that people with fibromyalgia also have low levels of Vitamin D. Vitamin D is a great, natural treatment for fibromyalgia because it helps the nerves to function in the muscles. Having low levels of Vitamin D will only lead to more chronic pain.
Acupuncture
Acupuncture is probably the most well known natural treatment for fibromyalgia. Modern scientific studies have been conducted to indeed show that acupuncture is effective as a fibromyalgia treatment. However, while acupunctures can relieve the pain in fibromyalgia, they only can on a short term basis. If you want a long term natural pain reliever for fibromyalgia, you should look elsewhere.
S-adenosylmethionine
S-adenosylmethioinine is quite a mouthful, but it’s also known as SAMe, and is a substance that naturally occurs in the body and is involved in multiple processes. SAMe is believed to have a more psychological than physical affect when it comes to fibromyalgia, meaning that it is best suited for helping anxiety and depression than alleviating the chronic pain. SAMe is usually taken as a supplemental tablet.
Massage
Massage therapy is an excellent treatment for fibromyalgia in that it relaxes the muscles and leads to an alleviation in muscle pain. One of the reasons why muscles can feel painful in fibromyalgia is because they are tight, but receiving a massage will relax them. While a massage is definitely not a long term benefit for fibromyalgia, it definitely helps while you are receiving it.
Capsaicin
Capsaicin is a natural pain reliever, coming from pepper plants. Capsaicin is a very common ingredient in lotions that you buy at the store, and when applied to the body, releases a chemical known as Substance P that decreases the chronic pain. Not only is capsaicin used as a temporary pain reliever for fibromyalgia, it also is for diabetes, cancer, and even headaches.
Biofeedback
Biofeedback is a form of therapy that enables you to be able to control the chronic pain throughout your body. It is also used for many other diseases other than fibromyalgia. Overall though, biofeedback is still in the process of having more scientific and medical studies conducted about it, so it may yet be sometime before we know all of the details of its benefits, especially in relation to fibromyalgia.
Seeing a Chiropractor
Seeing a chiropractor is another natural treatment. A chiropractor will utilize spinal manipulation to alleviate the pain and lead to the natural healing of your body. The primary areas of your body that will be most benefited by a chiropractor are the back, neck, and head. However, a chiropractor will also be mostly short term benefits, so if you want a long term benefit for your symptoms, you should look for another natural treatment.
Melatonin
Melatonin is a hormone found in the body that is also natural and excellent for helping you get better sleep at night. While most fibromyalgia sufferers use melatonin as a means to fight fatigue, it is also very useful in helping you overcome depression. However, melatonin is believed to not be very beneficial to helping the chronic pain of fibromyalgia, so its benefits are more psychological and sleep related than physical or pain related. As with any treatment, check with your doctor first before taking melatonin.
Magnesium
Having insufficient levels of magnesium in your system is enough to cause cramps and muscle spasms in your body alone. It’s especially worse if you are simultaneously suffering from fibromyalgia, as not having enough magnesium in your body can lead to more pain and muscle tenderness. To check if you have enough magnesium in your body, your doctor can conduct a test, and if you don’t have enough, will also prescribe you with the necessary supplements.
Yoga
Yes, yoga is considered to be a natural treatment for fibromyalgia. Scientific studies have been conducted to reveal that the majority of women who dedicate just a half hour of their time each day to yoga see a significant drop in their pain and fatigue symptoms.
Weight Loss
Finally, weight loss is the last natural fibromyalgia treatment that we will look at. Even if you lose just a little bit of weight will help to alleviate the pain and fatigue symptoms of fibromyalgia, and if you don’t currently have fibromyalgia but are scared of developing it later in life, taking off just a few pounds alone will greatly lower your chances of developing it anytime soon. Studies have shown that being obese or more weight than considered normal very greatly increases your chance of developing fibromyalgia, primarily because you would have higher levels of cytokines in your body, which are substances in your body that trigger pain and how sensitive you are to it. Besides, it never hurts to take a few pounds of weight off anyway.
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