Fibromyalgia is a chronic pain condition, but that is only one of the debilitating symptoms associated with this often-misunderstood disorder. To get a clearer picture of what a fibromyalgia sufferer is experiencing, we’re going to discuss 7 of the most common symptoms that fibromyalgia patients experience. Then we will consider an emerging way to get help from a natural source.

#1 Chronic Pain

Fibromyalgia patients experience what is called central sensitization. This means the person’s body is constantly in a state of wind-up where stimuli are perceived as far more painful than they should be. For example, if you accidentally touch the stove while it is on, your body amps up the amount of pain you feel to make you withdraw your hand before serious damage occurs. However, a gentle caress from a loved one should not cause the same amount of pain. Central sensitization causes the body to categorize these non-dangerous stimuli in the same way, leading to widespread pain in the body.

#2 Overwhelming Sensory Responses

For a fibromyalgia patient, touch is not the only sense that is easily overwhelmed. Sight, smell, and hearing are also affected. Thus, a loud noise, bright lights, or pungent odor may prove exhausting and trigger a flare-up of symptoms. Jamming a finger may hurt for hours instead of minutes. Catching a whiff of someone’s cigarette as you walk through a parking lot may wipe you out for the rest of the day. A crash from the other room where the kids are playing may lead to days of pain and anxiety. Unfortunately, sensory overload is often unavoidable for a fibromyalgia patient.

#3 Extreme Exhaustion

The exhaustion associated with fibromyalgia can be so debilitating that if you get examined by a doctor on a day when you are more tired than in pain, you could end up diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome instead. Exhaustion may be caused by dealing with pain on a continual basis, but it also may be due to the next symptom on our list – sleep problems.

#4 Difficulty Sleeping

For someone suffering from fibromyalgia, sleep problems can result in a debilitating cycle. Lack of sleep actually causes a person to experience higher pain levels. However, that pain can also make it difficult to sleep. Breaking this insidious cycle may mean educating yourself about the best environment for sleep and making necessary lifestyle changes to improve your sleep habits.

#5 Associated Conditions

One big issue that fibromyalgia patients face is the number of associated conditions that a person is at higher risk for if diagnosed with a chronic pain condition. One example is IBS. Researchers keep finding a link between fibromyalgia and an increased risk for irritable bowel syndrome. Other conditions a patient may be at greater risk for are emotional conditions like depression and anxiety. Whether the pain and uncertainty of the fibromyalgia lead to these other conditions or the effect on one’s social life and career, the results are the same. Depression and anxiety compound the struggle for a fibromyalgia patient.

#6 Cognitive Symptoms

For many fibromyalgia patients, this can be one of the toughest parts of the condition to deal with. Pain can make it difficult to focus. This can affect both work and home life. Short-term memory issues and information retention problems are common. You may wander the house for half an hour looking for your keys only to forget what you needed to go to the store for in the first place. It can be tough to explain to family and friends what it is like to feel as though you are in a fog at all times.

#7 Chronic Headaches or Migraines

Fibromyalgia patients are also at risk for more frequent migraines and headaches. First of all, chronic pain and the stresses of a long-term illness can lead to tension in the neck and shoulders. This can cause chronic tension headaches. However, pain medication can also lead to rebound headaches (also called medication overuse headaches). For someone with a chronic pain condition, going off the pain meds to give the body time to detox doesn’t seem like a viable option. But you may be surprised to find out just how many of the headaches are medication related.

Hope for Fibromyalgia Sufferers in Danville, Illinois

One place that more fibromyalgia sufferers are turning for help is upper cervical chiropractic care. For example, one 32-year-old woman saw the onset of fibromyalgia following several traumas, one of which was serious enough to result in a separated shoulder. Her health rapidly declined over a two-year period. Then she sought upper cervical chiropractic care. Within 4 months she reported that her condition had completely resolved. In fact, 90% of the pain was gone within the first 3 months of care.

If you’ve never heard of upper cervical chiropractic, this is a subspecialty of chiropractic that specifically deals with the top two bones in the neck, the C1 and C2. What does fibromyalgia have to do with the uppermost part of the neck? When the C1 and C2 misalign, it can place pressure on the brainstem and spinal cord. Also, cerebrospinal fluid drainage and blood flow can be inhibited. This can lead to central sensitization and other underlying factors in fibromyalgia.

To learn if upper cervical chiropractic is the right option for you, come and see us at Sooley Chiropractic Health Center in Danville, Illinois. A patient history, physical examination, and diagnostic imaging can help determine if an upper cervical misalignment exists and the exact location and degree of the subluxation. Then a gentle plan of care can be determined to meet your specific needs.

Migraines are difficult to endure and cause many to search frantically for answers for the pain they experience. A number of studies have suggested the size of a person’s brain governs whether or not he experiences migraines at all. The study reported on in

Radiology magazine also reported that smaller brains are made up of less brain tissue with which to process pain causing a more severe migraine. Another report by JAMA in 2012 states women are more likely to have brain lesions if they suffer from migraines.

These are just a few of the reports out there pointing to the same conclusion: the size of one’s brain can be a factor in whether one has migraines and depression and how intense these conditions are. Can anything be done to help migraines or must some people just learn to live with them? Thankfully, there is hope.

Natural Relief for Those with Migraines

Sooley Chiropractic Health Center in Danville, Illinois offers an alternative therapy that is seeing great success among patients. It is a method called NUCCA that works to correct misalignments in the upper neck area.

A study performed in New York looked at how a misalignment in the upper cervical spine can affect the flow of cerebrospinal fluid. The results proved there was indeed a blockage and when this misalignment was corrected, cerebrospinal fluid flow returned to normal and intracranial pressure was reduced by 28%. Patients having this blockage all suffered from migraines and, when corrected, their migraines improved.

The technique we use helps the bones to move back into alignment more naturally than cracking or popping the spine. Our patients report seeing good results after just a couple of adjustments.

Sometimes people are doing things that they think will make them feel better but are actually

• Clutter: Having too much stuff around one’s workspace or home can make a person feel more fatigued affecting focus and energy levels.
• Not eating enough fruits and vegetables: The body needs the nutrients found in these foods in order to function at its optimum. They also protect the body from cancer, aging too fast, and they increase energy. These should come first in any healthy diet.
• Vitamin water: While it may sound like a good choice, it often causes the body to work harder at metabolizing isolated B vitamins, thus making a person feel more tired rather than energized.
• Eating low carb: This seems to be the latest trend. However, research reveals that those eating low carb have more fatigue and have less desire to exercise than those eating healthy, whole grain, complex carbs.
• Using a computer: Looking at a computer screen for extended periods of time can cause fatigue and computer vision syndrome (headaches, tiredness, and fatigue}. This often cannot be avoided, but it is recommended to use the 20-20-20 rule. Every 20 minutes look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds, thereby reducing eye strain and increasing energy.

How Upper Cervical Care Helps Fatigue

The above-mentioned study did not include one important area of care – upper cervical chiropractic. Research has shown that upper cervical can prove beneficial in manner different areas of health. This is because misalignments in the bones of the neck sap one’s energy by causing restrictions in blood flow and oxygen and limiting communication to and from the brain and body.

Here at Sooley Chiropractic Health Center, we use a gentle method to correct these misalignments and keep the spine in the best shape possible. This can improve sleep in both adults and children, and energy levels may also increase.

• Extreme exhaustion that is not improved with rest
• Muscle pain
• Problems with concentration and memory
• Tiredness after mental or physical exertion that lasts over 24 hours
• Irregular patterns of sleep
• Sore throat
• Abnormal headaches
• Joint pain with no swelling or redness
• No other medical conditions to explain the fatigue

These symptoms must be experienced by adults for 6 months and children for 3 months in order to be diagnosed properly. No one really knows exactly what causes CFS, but here are a few theories:

• Viral infections
• Genetics
• Immune system problems
• Hormonal imbalances

Another theory that is gaining popularity because of its success in helping chronic fatigue patients has to do with an often-overlooked misalignment in the bones of the upper neck, specifically the atlas and the axis bones. If one has been in a car accident, had a trip and fall, experienced a sports-related injury, or suffered any other kind of mild or major blow to the head or neck, he may be at risk for a misalignment of these bones. When this happens, undue stress is put upon the brainstem and causes the central nervous system to malfunction.

How Upper Cervical Chiropractic Helps Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

We take chronic fatigue very seriously at our Danville, Illinois practice. We know that a healthy spine means a healthy body and a happier person. A misalignment – even one as tiny as ¼ of a millimeter – can be the source of a lot of serious health problems throughout the body. We use modern technology to help us detect exactly where the misalignment lies, and then we use a very gentle method to begin to correct it. We do not pop or crack the spine or neck in any way (that’s general chiropractic). The technique used by upper cervical chiropractors encourages the bones to more back into place naturally with minimal force. Once the misalignment is corrected, patients often report seeing chronic fatigue symptoms improve greatly.

After you’ve crashed your body (i.e. lifted a heavy weight incorrectly, fell asleep on the couch or spent 8 hours sitting in front of a computer), your spine may also have slipped out alignment.  A healthy posture requires your head, shoulder, hips and feet to line up properly for your spine to maintain functional integrity – just like handlebars of a bike need to line up with the frame and tires to steer properly.  If one part of a mechanical structure becomes misaligned (like your head isn’t balance over your shoulders, or your hips aren’t balance over your feet) it will create undue stress on the rest of the system and increase the risk of catastrophic failure.