Do you ache all over? Tired? Can’t sleep? You can heal your body with nutrition!
Fibromyalgia is a syndrome of the muscles that affects major control areas of the body and can therefore manifest as a myriad of seemingly unrelated symptoms. People have widespread pain in the joints, muscles, tendons, and other soft tissue areas. In addition to pain, people with fibromyalgia also suffer from digestive problems and insomnia.
The cause of fibromyalgia is fairly uncertain among the conventional medical community. It is known that some cases of fibromyalgia are caused by a physical or emotional trauma from which the individual has not healed. There is a dysfunction of the way in which the central nervous system processes pain, leading to increased pain, increased stress, and widespread pain.
Fibromyalgia is usually associated with periods of high stress, insomnia, hypervigilance, anxiety and worrying. Evaluating comorbid conditions are particularly insightful about the root cause of the symptoms. Energy depletion causes health problems and health problems cause energy depletion, thus making causation difficult to determine without a holistic perspective.
Comorbid Conditions Include:
- Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
- Irritable Bowel Syndrome
- Myofascial Pain Syndrome
- Chronic sinusitis
- Pelvic pain
- Food reactivities
- Restless Leg Syndrome
- Sleep apnea
Research indicates that individuals with fibromyalgia exhibit cellular mitochondrial dysfunction and therefore their body does not have enough energy to carry out all actions. Additionally, dysfunction of the hypothalamus, a brain region that requires high amounts of energy, results in hormonal, sleep, and autonomic control issues. Reduced muscular energy results in muscle shortening and pain that can often prevent deep sleep. Consequently, disrupted sleep contributes to the muscle pain and inability to clear away inflammation.
Individuals With Fibromyalgia Have Symptoms Including:
- Muscle stiffness upon waking, pain eases throughout the day, pain worsens at night
- Cognitive decline
- Sensitivity to touch
- Fatigue
- TMJ
- Depression
- Headaches
- Tooth grinding
How Is Fibromyalgia Diagnosed?
Fibromyalgia is typically diagnosed if the individual has experienced widespread body pain for 3 months and demonstrates pain at 11 of 18 characteristic tender points on the body. These points are located on the shoulders, neck, chest, rib cage, buttocks, lower back, shins, knees, thighs, and elbows.
How Is Fibromyalgia Treated?
The allopathic approach to fibromyalgia is to treat with antidepressants, muscle relaxants, anti-seizure drugs, sleeping pills, and pain medications such as NSAIDs and even opiates for severe cases. Physicians may also use exercise and behavior therapy in conjunction with medications. The allopathic belief is that fibromyalgia is a long-term disorder and that patients will deal with their pain and symptoms for the rest of their life. Doctors believe healing is unlikely, although may recommend eating a “healthy” diet, avoiding caffeine if they have trouble sleeping, and getting plenty of sleep. The patients will also have to remain on medication permanently in order to treat the symptoms.
Unfortunately, the patients exhibit disabling psychological effects from the psychotherapeutic drugs and heavily addictive and toxic opiate pain relievers. Often, the people will not be able to be contributing members of society. They will fall into a depression, stay at home, and live in an environment unfit for healing.
What Does The Holistic Approach Do Differently?
Thankfully, there is hope for individuals suffering from fibromyalgia. The integrative approach to healing is to look for underlying causes of the pain and correct these issues with diet and lifestyle changes. Lifestyle changes include stress management techniques like acupuncture, massage, meditation, journaling, deep breathing, etc… These measures help keep the individual relaxed and in a positive mindset. Motivation and determination are very helpful in moving the individual out of a state of pain and depression and into a more manageable, energetic state of both mind and body.
Healing through nutrition is also a key facet of the integrative approach to fibromyalgia. Balancing nutrients and hormones while reducing inflammation is the underlying foundation of all healing therapies.
Nutrient Deficiencies Linked to Fibromyalgia:
Nutritional deficiencies, especially B12, iron, and magnesium are common in individuals with fibromyalgia or similar conditions and should be considered. Without proper nutrients, mitochondria are less efficient at producing energy. Nutritional testing and organic acid test can help understand the client’s nutritional needs.
Vitamin D deficiency is a widespread health issue and is especially prevalent in individuals with fibromyalgia. Increasing sun exposure and taking a supplement will increase levels and offer widespread protective benefits.
How to Heal:
In addition to nutritional status, toxicity, yeast infections, parasites, and food/environmental sensitivities should also be assessed in a holistic treatment. Restoring balance to the digestive tract and supplementing with enhanced digestive and detoxifying nutrients will help clear up pathogenic bacteria and microbes while also working to cleanse the body of harmful toxins that may be contributing to pain and inflammation or hindering nutrient absorption and utilization.
Testing for small intestinal bacterial overgrowth, adrenal and hormonal saliva tests, food allergy testing, and heavy metal toxicity testing may all provide insight into a client’s symptoms and help develop a healing protocol that will target the underlying causes of the client’s pain.
My Holistic Health Supportive Protocol:
My holistic approach encompasses diet, lifestyle, and targeted nutrient supplementation in order to help the client heal their body and restore healthy function of the systems that are weak.
A whole, plant-based diet is the foundation of healing protocol for clients with fibromyalgia. Often clients will present with vitamin deficiencies, impaired digestion, and an acid-forming diet. Using an alkaline diet with plenty of vegetable juices, fruits, vegetables, and sea vegetables will help the client restore balance to their tissue and blood pH, thus allowing for better cellular activity, increased energy, and increase health throughout the body.
For more information please Katherine.
Tags: chronic fatigue, chronic pain, fibromyalgia, pain
