LifeCare Chiropractic

The Best Chiropractic Care in Mesa, Arizona

Fibromyalgia

CAN HELP FOR FIBROMYALGIA BE THIS SIMPLE?

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I’ve never been a terribly big fan of the diagnosis of fibromyalgia.

That’s not saying that the constellation of symptoms don’t exist, but rather that they all have their respective names (gut dysfunction, HPA axis dysfunction, loss of health locus of control, etc..) and should be addressed.  By lumping them all into one diagnosis and trying to find a single approach that is going to fix “fibromyalgia” is typical mainstream medical thinking.

All the aspects of FM need to be addressed for the best outcomes.  I remember one particular FM patient that, after 15 yrs, was completely recovered after 2 weeks of digestive enzymes (“results not typical”).

Obviously, moving our bodies can have an anti-inflammatory effect, so the results of this particular study looking at Tai-chi for FM are consistent with what we know.  The bottom line is that every FM patient should take this advice to heart and begin moving more.

Treatment of Fibromyalgia with Antidepressants – (11-16-00)

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Treatment of Fibromyalgia with Antidepressants

This is always a touchy subject when it comes to patients who experience pain in any form. Many patients do experience some reduction in symptoms with antidepressants, but this may be from the overlay of psychological stress leading to additional pain, NOT from the original pain generator itself. This does not mean the symptoms are psychological in origin. Unfortunately, many physicians are so limited in their arsenal against many chronic diseases that antidepressants are their only tool.

Synergy Abstract

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Frequency of triggering bacteria in patients with reactive arthritis – (04-09-01)

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Frequency of triggering bacteria in patients with reactive arthritis

The well known fact that certain organisms infecting the GI tract can cause systemic arthritic symptoms becomes lost on most clinicians when they consider such conditions as fibromyalgia and many of the autoimmune disorders causing joint pain. In talking with a gastroenterologist and a rheumatologist that I know, they would never entertain the idea that the GI tract could be a source of joint pain unless the “well know” organisms are present. Maybe that’s why we’re missing the boat on chronic pain in civilized health systems…

Ann Rheum Dis — Abstracts: Fendler et al. 60 (4): 337

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Patient education to encourage graded exercise in chronic fatigue – (03-01-01)

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Patient education to encourage graded exercise in chronic fatigue

I firmly believe that fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue are intimately related, and both are a result of the up-regulation of the immune system. Where this up-regulation comes from and what perpetuates it may vary, but the end results are the same. This study demonstrates that exercise is beneficial in reducing the symptoms of CFS. Exercise is known to have anti-inflammatory effects, and also reduces the damaging effects of stress hormones on our bodies.

bmj.com Abstracts: Powell et al. 322 (7283): 387

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Depression in medical illness – (11-29-00)

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Depression in medical illness

This is a very interesting article outlining the interactions between the immune system and our mental health. Chronic infections and chronic immune stimulation can actually produce depression in patients. This depression can then, in turn, lead to additional physical complaints. This may be why certain antidepressants actually lower complaints in certain patients with syndromes such as fibromyalgia. The drugs do not actually get to the cause of the original complaint (the immune activation) but do help with the secondary effects of the depression. Unfortunately, without controlling the underlying immune activation, any therapy will not be very effective.

wjm — Yirmiya 173 (5): 333

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Link between irritable bowel syndrome and fibromyalgia – (03-29-04)

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Link between irritable bowel syndrome and fibromyalgia may be related to findings on lactulose breath testing

This is an interesting one. Although the diagnosis of fibromyalgia no longer seems to be the “flavor of the month,” patients with symptoms that would match those in FM are still walking around. Here is my concern: I firmly believe that a relatively small amount of true FM patients really exist. I feel that FM is more of a systemic manifestation of IBS. Dysfunction of the GI tract can explain all the symptoms of FM if you follow the physiology. In this study, the authors found evidence of small bowel bacterial overgrowth in both IBS and FM patients, and the patients with more overgrowth the more likely they had somatic (muscle) pain.

Research has shown that small bowel bacterial overgrowth can occur with anti-secretory therapy for GI complaints and from destruction of normal, protective bacterial flora. Some research has also shown the small bowel bacterial overgrowth will increase small bowel permeability–basically stuff is getting into the body that shouldn’t be and the body has no choice but to react and attach the invaders. Then, following that further, small bowel bacterial overgrowth has been linked to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis. So, not only could we have an upregulated immune system from the leaky gut, but the liver is now likewise burdened. Put these together and you’ve got a recipe for FM.

Ann Rheum Dis — Abstracts: Pimentel et al. 63 (4): 450 –

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HOW TO IMPROVE PAIN AND FATIGUE IN WOMEN WITH FIBROMYALGIA? – (09-01-09)

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Six Weeks of Whole-Body Vibration Exercise Improves Pain and Fatigue in Women with Fibromyalgia

As the owner of a clinic that has one of the higher quality WBV units, I can attest that we see some pretty interesting results across a variety of conditions. I must add a caveat about the lower quality cam-driven units–they generate substantial G-forces that may lead to long term joint damage. Stick with the sonic driven units.

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