Are you taking a long list of medications, or even experimental drugs, to get through your days and nights with Fibromyalgia symptoms? If you are seeking a more natural and proactive solution to your Fibromyalgia pain, the answer may prompt a closer look at your life style, your body, and your mind. These natural solutions will treat your Fibromyalgia symptoms and your conditions with your health and wellness in mind.
1. Improve Sleep Hygiene
The ability to fall asleep and stay asleep is probably the most important factor towards improvement and wellness for someone with Fibromyalgia. If we can sleep long and restoratively, our body will read the signs and switch from panic mode to healing mode. However, most people suffering from Fibromyalgia have a hard time getting their “zzz’s” at all, and they often wake up feeling more tired. According to a few significant studies, a staggering number of people with chronic pain (40-50%) feel better with just one single intervention: improving sleep hygiene.
So, what can you do about it? First of all, if you are sleeping on a soft and/or poor quality mattress it can be causing you to feel worse due to lack of support for your back and neck. Try to imagine you are Goldilocks when picking your mattress- you want to find the mattress that is “just right”- medium firm. Also, be generous with your money when buying a new mattress. After all, we strive to use it at least 7 hours every day so it should be a very important purchase.
To further improve quality of your sleep, establish a regular routine, clear your mind before going to bed, and improve your sleeping environment by keeping your bedroom neat and organized.
2. Healthy diet
Research indicates that for people with Fibromyalgia, a condition referred to as “leaky gut” is contributing to chronic systemic inflammation process, causing flu-like fatigue and soreness symptoms. Basically, more chemicals and toxins are leaking from our gut to our blood stream, and our body responds by attacking them. To ease this process, we can strive to decrease our digestive system to chemicals and toxins by:
- Filter your drinking water and air in your living quarter
- Choose organic as much as you can (use Clean 15 and Dirty Dozen list)
- Avoid or eliminate allergy producing foods
- Avoid inflammatory foods
3. Cold Laser Therapy
One of the most gentle and effective ways to address debilitating Fibromyalgia pain is with cold laser. The cold laser sends light (photons) into your injured tissues and can penetrate 2 inches without being absorbed by the skin, fat, or blood. No heat is generated so it is safe for use anywhere on the body. Once the photons find injured tissues, they stimulate and energize the cells to repair and strengthen at the remarkably fast rate. The treatment does not wear off like most medicines, electrical stimulation, heat or ice. It increases our body’s own healing power providing us with the true benefits.
4. Manual Therapy
Here at Lilly Physical Therapy, our highly skilled therapists provide their patients with cutting edge manual therapy techniques targeting the root causes of pain, such as excessive scar tissues, tight fascia, poor posture, or faulty joint mechanism. For someone with Fibromyalgia, he/she may have all of above. See our skilled manual therapists today and understanding to put your self on the path of healing.
5. Gentle Exercise
Studies show that exercise can help restore the body’s neurochemical balance and triggers a positive emotional state by boosting levels of natural endorphins, the pain killer hormone. However, which type of exercise is more suited for the population with Fibromyalgia?
While intensive exercise such as running or weight lifting provide the most cardio and strengthening benefit, most people with Fibromyalgia find them impossible to tolerate due to their constant fatigue and muscle pain. Leaving them feeling more depleted and disappointed after.
Instead try gentle exercises such as Yoga and Tai Chi with emphasis on slow warm up and calming effect. Not only can exercise improve one’s body function and endurance, they also help you fight stress and regulate breathing. A recent study comparing standard fibromyalgia care to the use of classic Yang-style tai chi showed a significant improvement in quality of life and control of severity of fibromyalgia symptoms,” says Hernan Castro-Rueda, MD, a rheumatologist at Mission Internal Medical Group in Mission Viejo, Calif.
6. Mindfulness Therapy
There are so many ways to be mindful of your emotional state and control your stress level. Some may be well practiced in the art of meditation; other may prefer aromatherapy, relaxation music, tapping or emotional counseling. The common goal of these therapies is to “step on the break” of our racing mind and consciousness, and mindfully control our thought process and stress level.
Chances are, most of us are aware of the negative effect of long-term stress on the fibromyalgia condition. However, the most common subject of our stress is about our inability to manage our stress itself. Take time to experiment with a mindfulness therapy strategy that is compatible with your lifestyle and personality and will serve you plentiful in the long run.
The Fibromyalgia Program at Lilly Physical Therapy is comprehensive and offers options that help our body heal a the remarkable rate. We provide our patients with extensive education, cutting edge technology (ML830 laser) and superior manual therapy. Begin your transformation to pain free life by calling today! (425) 224-2476
Written by Sophie Xie and Lilly Bojic- Physical Therapists at Lilly Physical Therapy, LLC
