Fibromyalgia, formerly called fibrositis, a term coined by Gowers in 1904, does not cause inflammation, as the old word mistakenly meant. It consists of a group of symptoms or signs that occur together, constituting a syndrome that gives rise to this disease.
Because fibromyalgia presents with normal laboratory tests, doctors came to believe that fibromyalgia only existed in the patient’s head. They called it rheumatism, psychoge, no. But the most recent evidence clearly shows that fibromyalgia pain comes from places other than the head.
More than 90 percent of fibromyalgia patients are women. The condition tends to appear between the ages of 20 and 50, reaching its peak around 35. Conservative estimates state that almost 5 percent of Westerners suffer from this disease and probably many more since many people do not realize it. who suffers it.
Even doctors have trouble diagnosing this disease. That’s because analytics are normal. Another problem is that many of the symptoms that fibromyalgia comprises resemble those of other ailments, such as various rheumatic complaints and a low thyroid background. And there is even a link between fibromyalgia and other diseases. For example, more than half of fibromyalgia patients also have signs of intestinal instability and chronic fatigue syndrome.
But the ultimate proof of the existence of Fibromyalgia is the reality of specific “pain” points around the body, 18 to be more exact.
When pain exists in a minimum of 11 of those points, the patient has fibromyalgia. Those spots appear on the front and back of the body, from the neck to the knees.
Fibromyalgia pain differs from other aches and pains because normal pain is usually traveling and localized, such as in the back or feet. In fibromyalgia, the pain is throughout the body, with most sufferers averaging 16 “strengths”. Another difference is that fibromyalgia pain is chronic, it doesn’t go away.
CAUSES OF FIBROMYALGIA
Fibromyalgia can appear suddenly or gradually. Some potential potentiating events include physical trauma, such as injury, emotional trauma, infection, withdrawal of cortisone, and low thyroid function.
One possible cause is explained by the Muscle Contraction Theory. This theory states that a normal muscle at rest exerts force on the tendons at either end of the muscle. When a patient has excessively high muscle tone, or fails to relax the muscle during sleep, the abnormal pulling of the muscle causes pain. This phenomenon is related to stress levels in the body. Tension headaches, caused by excess tension on the neck muscles, are believed to be due to the above mechanism. The difference with fibromyalgia is that pain occurs throughout the body, not just. Psychiatrist Harvey Moldofsky, from the University of Toronto, induced fibromyalgia symptoms in people who had not been affected by this disease simply by disrupting their sleep.
These people displayed alpha brain waves that usually only appear when the individual is awake. Clinical studies show that two-thirds of fibromyalgia patients sleep poorly. In these people, insomnia is second, after pain, as a source of discomfort.
Moldofsky showed on sleep physiology that people with fibromyalgia woke up more frequently at night and spent less time sleeping in phase 4 compared to normal people. This is significant because it is during phase 4, or slow wave sleep, that maximum tissue recovery occurs. This includes anabolic functions such as cellular amino acid uptake, protein synthesis, cell division, and children’s growth. It is also the period of sleep in which catabolic processes are reduced.
As we age, phase 4 sleep decreases; Some scientists believe that reducing this restorative sleep is responsible for many of the signs we call aging.
The brain chemical that mediates phase 4 sleep is serotonin, made in the brain from the amino acid tryptophan.
Based on his studies on sleep, Moldofsky proposed that fibromyalgia resulted from an insufficient level of free tryptophan in the blood. The lack of tryptophan meant less serotonin to synthesize in the brain. Moldofsky found that the less tryptophan in the blood of fibromyalgia patients, the more pain they felt.
Of interest in these sleep studies is the fact that fibromyalgia symptoms cannot be produced even by sleep deprivation in physically fit people.
Dr. Robert Venneth, Professor of Medicine at Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland, believes that fibromyalgia occurs by following these steps:
1) A problem of internal tension leads to disturbed phase 4 of sleep.
2) The resulting fatigue leads to:
3) Inactivity, which results in:
4) Muscle microtraumas, usually. ral repaired during phase 4 sleep.
5) This results in constant muscle pain, especially in certain areas of the body.
6) This becomes the chronic pain of fibromyalgia.
THE PROPICIATOR VICTIM
The type of person most prone to fibromyalgia has the following characteristics:
• Perfectionism
• Compulsive character
• Tension
• Anxiety
• Suppressed feelings of hostility and frustration
• Intelligence (usually)
• Aggression (usually)
• Productivity (usually )
Those with fibromyalgia value success and achievement highly. This is related to fibromyalgia because pressure and tension are known to decrease the time spent in the recuperative phase of sleep (4).
But there are also the aspects of fibromyalgia related to getting fit.
GETTING IN SHAPE: THE CURE?
Bennett said that, in his experience, 85 percent of people with fibromyalgia are out of shape. As mentioned before, the sleep disorders that fibromyalgia symptoms often bring in people who are not in shape fail to do so in people in good physical condition.
According to Professor Paul Waytz (University of Minnesota), athletes who over-train a muscle group or suffer tears, tendonitis, and other injuries to a particular muscle can develop fibromyalgia in that area.
While too much exercise could lead to fibromyalgia, recent studies show that just the right amount could alleviate it to some degree. Most of the people with this disease are in very bad physical shape. They often say that exercise makes them feel worse. Even fibromyalgia pain feels like an over-trained muscle. The solution is a gradual introduction to exercise.
Most doctors familiar with fibromyalgia recommend gentle aerobic exercises, such as swimming, low-impact aerobes, or stationary cycling. A study of 38 fibromyalgia patients showed definite reduction in pain and improvement in subjective symptoms after following a gradual aerobic conditioning program.
According to Dr. Gleen A. McCain, associate professor of Medicine at the University of Western Ontario, who led the study, the mechanism of pain relief from exercise likely results from increased levels of naturally occurring pain relievers in the body. , like endocrines.
Another benefit of exercise for people with fibromyalgia is related to sleep. Exercise appears to increase the time spent in phase 4 or recuperative sleep. This is still conjecture, but it may explain why fit people do not suffer from fibromyalgia symptoms even though their sleep is disturbed.
It’s hard to lift weights when we’re already feeling exhausted and achy. But if the exercise / endorphin theory is true, weight training may be beneficial
for fibromyalgia sufferers. The emission of endorphins is related to the intensity of the exercise. Because the intensity of weight training is higher than that of aerobic movements, there will be greater release of endorphins when working with weights. This would decrease the sensation of pain in fibromyalgia sufferers.
A PATHETIC CONDITION
Those affected by fibromyalgia are in a pathetic condition. Microscopic studies show that type II muscle fibers atrophy with fibromyalgia. Type II fibers are the most affected by weight training; it is the fibers that grow through the stimulation of weights.
Weight training, by increasing the size and strength of type II fibers, can reduce symptoms of the disease. But the key is to train gradually. Eccentric or negative contractions should be avoided initially. They can increase injuries to muscle fibers, producing very strong soreness.
Another reason to proceed slowly in weight training has to do with the oxygen delivery system. People with fibromyalgia have a decrease in tissue oxygenation; This decreases energy synthesis and delivery to muscle, leading to rapid fatigue. Capillaries can have cracks in people with fibromyalgia. This may be the cause of the decreased oxygen supply. Abnormalities in serotonin metabolism result in cracks in the veins; There may be a connection here with fibromyalgia since one of its hallmarks is serotonin synthesis disorder.
Other helpful measures include massage, stretching, attention to posture, and ultrasound treatments. Some doctors prescribe low doses of an antidepressant medication, or muscle relaxants, which induce phase 4 sleep by increasing serotonin synthesis.
Fibromyalgia is neither disfigured nor terminal. But for many it is something that supposes a handicap. These people are perceived as disabled by that disease. Due to pain and fatigue, they become passive. This starts a vicious cycle because the more inactivity is, the symptoms worsen.
Fibromyalgia is a chronic condition. But trying to successfully overcome many of the problems associated with the syndrome requires an understanding of the nature of the disease, staying fit, reducing stress, and not believing yourself a handicap. Indeed, you yourself are the final arbiter of your own quality of life.
