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Fibromyalgia: Symptoms, Causes, Risk Factors & Treatment

What is Fibromyalgia pain?

Fibromyalgia is a condition that causes pain all over the body (also referred to as widespread pain), sleep problems, fatigue, and often emotional and mental distress. People with fibromyalgia may be more sensitive to pain than people without fibromyalgia. About 4 million US adults, 2% of the adult population have fibromyalgia. It is followed by widespread pain. It also causes tension headache, migraines, TMJ disorders, anxieties, depression, and irritable bowel syndrome [1].

Risk factors for Fibromyalgia pain

Following are the risk factors for fibromyalgia pain.

  1. Traumatic experiences such as emotional, physical, or sexual abuse are thought to be triggering factors in susceptible individuals for fibromyalgia. In addition, several studies have suggested that childhood traumatic experiences (CTEs) are relatively high in fibromyalgia patients.
  2. Surgery is also the factor and many patients who have surgery don’t feel the same after surgery like they didn’t recover to normal like before and feel severe pain.
  3. Viral infections like the flu or a cold, or other infections such as Lyme disease, can result in fibromyalgia.
  4. Fibromyalgia can also be caused by psychological issues and it is also most common in women than men.
  5. Fibromyalgia is also caused by diseases like lupus or rheumatoid arthritis.
  6. It can be also transferred through genes means it can happen if someone has Fibromyalgia in their family history.
  7. Studies have found that obesity is common in Fibromyalgia. We also found that obesity in Fibromyalgia was associated with greater pain sensitivity, poorer sleep quality, and reduced physical strength and flexibility [2].

Causes of Fibromyalgia pain

Causes of Fibromyalgia pain are as follows

Hormonal imbalance:

Fibromyalgia can be caused due to deficiency in thyroid hormones especially T4 and T3. It can also be formed due to deficiency of adrenal gland hormone i.e progesterone, pregnenolone, estrogen, testosterone and DHEA [3].

Vitamins deficiency:

It is studied that persons having deficiency of vitamin D, vitamin B, vitamin C , vitamin K and Coq 10 can have fibromyalgia. This is because deficiency of these vitamins restrict the functioning of various physiological systems in the body that ultimately lead to fibromyalgia pain [4]. 

Mineral deficiency:

Moreover, people having Fibromyalgia have a deficiency of magnesium, iron, iodine, selenium, and zinc. Minerals play important role in assisting enzymatic reactions and hormonal regularization in the body. Hence deficiency in any of the minerals can cause hormonal imbalance, incomplete enzymatic activities, and overlooked functions. This can lead to fibromyalgia pain at different body parts [3]. 

Diet:

Fibromyalgia can be caused if a person eats refined carbs, artificial sweeteners if a person drinks alcohol in excess, and if person eats a lot of processed food. It can also be caused if a person has any food allergy and he is not aware of it and eats it on daily basis [3].

Medications:

Fibromyalgia can also be caused by many medications like cholesterol medications, diabetes medication, blood pressure medication, opioids medications, chemotherapy, vaccine, etc. especially if there is taken for a very long time [4].

Toxins:

Toxins like mercury, arsenic, lead, toulene, lithium and mold can also cause fibromyalgia pain. These toxic substances can lead to adverse physiological and pathological chemical reactions due to which the fibromyalgia pain cannot be handled through surgery.

Treatment for Fibromyalgia pain:

In order to treat the root cause of fibromyalgia doctors need to evaluate patient vitamins, minerals, hormonal, diet and toxins level [5].  Feel free to take advantage of ASK ASTR ( Free online medical evaluation to help you figure out possible vitamins, mineral, hormonal imbalance). Also, you can schedule a telehealth evaluation session with one of our doctors,

Conclusion

Fibromyalgia is a condition that causes pain all over the body (also referred to as widespread pain), sleep problems, fatigue, and often emotional and mental distress. People with fibromyalgia may be more sensitive to pain than people without fibromyalgia. It is caused due to vitamin deficiency, mineral deficiency, hormonal imbalance, improper diet, and toxins. Fibromyalgia pain is treated by many drugs and physical therapy.

References 

  1. Cheng CW, Wong CS, Hui GK, Chung EK, Wong SH. Fibromyalgia: is it a neuropathic pain?. Pain management. 2018 Sep;8(5):377-88. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30212264/
  2. Choy EH. The role of sleep in pain and fibromyalgia. Nature Reviews Rheumatology. 2015 Sep;11(9):513-20. https://www.nature.com/articles/nrrheum.2015.56
  3. Häuser W, Fitzcharles MA. Facts and myths pertaining to fibromyalgia. Dialogues in clinical neuroscience. 2018 Mar;20(1):53. 

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29946212/

  1. Tan AC, Jaaniste T, Champion D. Chronic widespread pain and fibromyalgia syndrome: life-course risk markers in young people. Pain Research and Management. 2019 May 5;2019. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31191788/
  2. Tzadok R, Ablin JN. Current and emerging pharmacotherapy for fibromyalgia. Pain Research and Management. 2020 Feb 11;2020. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32104521/

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