There are a few hypotheses about the reasons for fibromyalgia, from hormonal aggravations to stretch to hereditary qualities. While there is no acceptable agreement about what causes fibromyalgia, most scientists accept fibromyalgia comes about not from a solitary occasion however from a mixture of numerous physical and passionate stressors. In this article, we’re going to take a quick look at some of the best causal explanations for fibromyalgia.
Hormones are (likely) at the Core
Fibromyalgia is significantly more common in women than in men. Some fascinating studies demonstrate that women have give or take seven times less serotonin in the cerebrum. That may clarify why fibromyalgia disorder usually happens in women.
Of course, because we haven’t been able to pinpoint serotonin as the primary vessel which affects whether or not you get fibromyalgia, it’s hard for us to say if that plays a role or not – it’s just one of the many theories that are out there.
An alternate hypothesis expresses that fibromyalgia is brought on by biochemical changes in the body and may be identified with hormonal progressions or menopause. Likewise, some (yet not all) individuals with fibromyalgia have low levels of these hormones, which may cause the muscle pain that is so closely associated with the disease.
Hormones are constantly changing, and it just becomes that much worse when you hit menopause age. So when our bodies go out of whack, it may end up causing some unwanted side effects, including the pain related to fibromyalgia.
These are, perhaps, the closest that we get to any sort of answer about where this disease comes from. It’s obviously related to something that happens in more women than men, and so of course going to the hormonal level is the right way to go with research. More research is being conducted at the hormonal level, but there are also a lot of other pieces of research that come into the picture as well, all of which may play a role in causing fibromyalgia to begin in certain persons.
What Are Some of the Other Most Common Theories About Fibromyalgia?
So, what are the other theories that are related to fibromyalgia? Which ones seem to have the best reasoning? Here are some of the most common theories that people have thrown out there in the past few years of research.
First off, let’s take a look at the brain. We talked about serotonin a little bit above, but let’s talk about it a little more here in this section. Some have estimated that lower levels of a cerebrum neurotransmitter called serotonin prompts more sensitivity to pain, because it “breaks down” the pain threshold that the body usually has. Serotonin is connected with a cooling, tension diminishing response.
If the pain threshold is lessened because of the disease, it may be because of the decreased adequacy of the body’s regular endorphin painkillers and the expansion of a substance called “substance P.” Substance P makes pain that much worse. There have been a few studies that connect fibromyalgia to sudden trauma to the spinal cord and the brain as well, which could also give this same effect.
Of course, then we get into other issues in the body that may cause fibromyalgia to begin. A few scientists have hypothesized that stress or other physical injuries could be part of the cause for fibromyalgia. An alternate hypothesis states that muscle “microtraumas” (very slight injuries) prompt a progressing cycle of exhaustion and pain. This system, in the same way as all the others, is still problematic for fibromyalgia.
Most individuals with fibromyalgia experience a sleeping disorder or non-therapeutic sleep. In short, they don’t get good enough sleep – it doesn’t give them energy, and it’s way too light for them to really do anything. Poor sleeping patterns may prompt lower levels of serotonin, which brings about an increase in pain sensitivity. Research has shown that less sleep causes more physical pain and a lower pain threshold.
A few researchers used to believe that, in light of the fact that fibromyalgia was almost always joined by depression, that there may be a connection between the two sicknesses. Today, mental wellbeing issues are no longer considered to cause fibromyalgia. That being said, the issues do go hand in hand – but the fibromyalgia seems to be what is causing the mental health issues, due to the stress and irritation that the disorder can bring to the person that is struggling with it.
Like other rheumatic disorders, fibromyalgia could be the consequence of a hereditary inclination that is passed from a mom to her daughter. A few scientists accept that an individual’s qualities may manage the way his or her body forms pain receptors. These researchers conjecture that individuals with fibromyalgia may have a quality or qualities that cause them to respond strongly to pain that most individuals would not see as excruciating.
A few qualities have been found to happen all the more frequently in individuals with fibromyalgia. It’s assumed that when an individual with this hereditary inclination is presented to certain physical or mental stressors, for example, a traumatic injury or a severe sickness, that there is a change in the body’s reactions to pain. This change can make the body a lot more sensitive to pain.
It’s hard to pinpoint one specific explanation for fibromyalgia. It can be frustrating, because the disease is still being researched and there really isn’t a lot of “definite” information out there about the disease itself. That being said, research is still continuing because researchers and doctors want to see if they can find a root cause for the problem.
Finding a root cause is the first step in making sure that we can find a cure or finding prevention so that people don’t have to suffer through the issue as much. Keep an eye on the news and other areas in order to see what new bits of research come out about this odd and confusing disorder.
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