Why Fibromyalgia is a lousy classification leading to the bad diagnosis of why you hurt.

In 1990, a group of Rheumatologists created a condition they called Fibromyalgia, which was meant to explain a certain set of patients who were experiencing pain this group could not explain or even help very well. The problem is that the criteria are vague and has in many cases been discredited, although if you check through the internet, it has become a great marketing tool for pain management providers and Rheumatologists to find patients who are desperate for relief. A great example of this is a site I recently came across that offers 10 celebrities who suffer from the condition .

In Europe, the condition is known as “Chronic Widespread Pain Syndrome” which is at least more descriptive but still vague. Treatments from Lyrica to antidepressants to exercise has been believed to help these patients and a small subgroup of those who have been told they have this so-called condition really do have a problem with pain control, some in the chiropractic profession believe should be diagnosed as “central sensitization with widespread allodynia as it has nothing to do with fibros or myos but there is algia. In English, the condition has been poorly explained, poorly understood by those with little training in body mechanics (most medical physicians) and as a result, many people have treatments such as Lyrica given to them, with side effects yet with little relief. With the current information on the problems with a dosage between men and women, using medication to relieve a problem that is mechanical is both risky and foolhardy. This quote was from a researcher who helped publish this study on the problems with diagnosing this condition (http://www.jmptonline.org/article/S0161-4754(06)00154-0/fulltext).

Did the wrong group of healthcare providers describe this condition? The answer to that is probably, since many of those who have been told they have Fibromyalgia actually have myofascial pain from body type an asymmetry as described in the book Cheating Mother Nature, what you need to know to beat chronic pain (available on Amazon.com).

The problem began with a group of physicians who have little training in diagnosing myofascial pain, but they were able to discuss similarities in the cases, which led to the grouping and classification and ultimately the diseasification of a disorder that was buried in the group.

Those who were buried in the group have a neurological pain regulation problem which may according to the author’s experience be a poor adaptation to pain stimuli that has become chronic, causing the brain to adapt and misinterpret pain. Most of these people are put on meds by the medical community, yet others do quite well with chiropractic care, especially methods such as Myofascial Release, Active Release Treatment, manipulation, foot orthotics to level the pelvis and exercise in the absence of pharmaceuticals. Many of these patients unfortunately are not referred for chiropractic care and not all approaches to the condition work the same.

The basis for most if not all of these patients are apparently mechanical, with the secondary stress, sleep disorders, and chronic pain that comes with poor body mechanics or body style.

Why does body style cause chronic pain? To understand this better, the mechanics behind chronic pain are described in this blog which described the mechanical basis for chronic pain, and Fibromyalgia which is should be more appropriately be called chronic mechanical pain syndrome.

Who should someone with a chronic mechanical pain syndrome of fibromyalgia go for relief? The most cost-effective solution is to visit a chiropractor.

Patients who have Fibromyalgia should look for a chiropractor who does the following;

1. Look at their entire body, not just the parts that hurt. Generally, these problems begin from the ground up.

2. Someone who performs a style of Myofascial Release. Myofascia plays a big part in chronic pain and Myofascial Release is helpful in restoring body mechanics to a more normal state.

3. Someone who supplies foot orthotics. Since most chronic pain sufferers have gait problems (problems with the way they walk, even if they are not aware of it), foot orthotics are part of the successful management of chronic pain.

4. Manipulation both in the spine and extremities is necessary to patients to get optimal relief from their treatment.

5. Exercises to improve muscular coordination and firing patterns, which is part of why people hurt. Poor muscular coordination and tightened myofascial combine to cause joint stress and therefore pain.

Find Cheating Mother Nature on Amazon.com