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Media Releases
Self-Management in Fibromyalgia Essential to Cope with Disorder
Columbia, Mo. (Nov. 23, 2005) - Fibromyalgia is among the most mysterious of disorders. Its cause has puzzled doctors for years, and its manifestations have confused physicians and patients alike.
Marked by insomnia, widespread and intense pain, depression, mental fog and profound fatigue, fibromyalgia can be quite debilitating. About six million Americans have it. Many people suffering from chronic pain might have the disorder, without knowing the cause of their problem.
Diagnosing fibromyalgia is tricky, since there is no one definitive test to rule out or confirm the condition. Fibromyalgia is diagnosed based on a careful medical assessment, after ruling out other diseases.
Typically, people with fibromyalgia describe widespread pain all over their bodies, or have pain concentrated in certain areas, called "tender points."
Since there is no known cause of fibromyalgia, there is no cure as well, but a number of treatments are available to minimize symptoms and improve the patient's quality of life.
What can people with fibromyalgia do?
Understanding and Accepting Are the Most Important Steps
"On a day-to-day basis, the most important thing for patients with fibromyalgia to do is to work at understanding their disease and living with it," says Deanna Davenport, a nurse practitioner who often works with fibromyalgia patients at the University of Missouri-Columbia Center for Rheumatic Diseases.
Studies show that people who understand and accept their disease fare much better than those who don't, Davenport explains. Read books, check out reliable websites and seek out support groups to learn more about fibromyalgia, as well as how others are coping with it.
Pay attention to how you feel. If you are in the middle of a flare, tone down your activities and give yourself some time to rest and recover, Davenport suggests. Stress reduction is crucial because stress can trigger a flare-up and make symptoms worse.
Accepting the disease is very important.
"People with fibro are never pain free," Davenport says. "It is up to them to learn how to manage with this pain, to make lifestyle changes to accommodate the fact that there will be times when they can't do everything they did before."
Pain Medication Will Only Do So Much
"Medical management of pain in fibromyalgia has limited value," Davenport says. "Most patients have only transient improvement in their pain with traditional pain medications."
However medication that targets the triggers of fibromyalgia pain - depression and sleep deprivation - might have a longer lasting effect. For example, people with fibromyalgia who have debilitating depression can be put on antidepressants for a period of time. Those whose dominant pain trigger is lack of sleep can take muscle relaxants and/or medication designed to improve the quality of their sleep.
Exercise Is a Must
Exercise is one activity that targets fibromyalgia on all fronts, Davenport explains. Daily exercise not only improves the overall physical condition, but can also elevate the mood, diminish depression and improve sleep, all of which help to decrease pain.
"However, exercise is often one of the hardest things to prescribe," Davenport says. "Motion and physical activity are often what makes a person with fibromyalgia hurt more."
The key is to start slowly, even with just 3-5 minutes of an aerobic activity, such as walking, swimming, riding a stationary bike.
"If this doesn't make you hurt worse the next day, then you are at the correct level," Davenport says. "Continue this activity daily for a few weeks, then try increasing just a bit, maybe to 7 minutes. The exercise is likely to be painful while doing it, but shouldn't make you hurt worse the next day. If so, you need to cut back on the amount."
The goal is to exercise for 20-30 minutes every day. Patience is key, since any real improvement may take up to several months.
There is a significant overlap between fibromyalgia symptoms and symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). The two conditions are considered medical cousins, Davenport says.
Unlike fibromyalgia, however, CFS usually presents with sore throat, low-grade fever and slightly enlarged lymph nodes. About 70 percent of patients with fibromyalgia meet the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's criteria for CFS, while two-thirds of patients with CFS meet the criteria for fibromyalgia established by the American College of Rheumatology.
Some other chronic inflammatory diseases are associated with fibromyalgia. For example, as many as 40 percent of people with lupus, an autoimmune disease that can affect the internal organs, also have fibromyalgia.
For more information of fibromyalgia, go to: www.marrtc.org/conditions/fibromyalgia.html or to a www.fmaware.org
To arrange an interview with a MARRTC expert on fibromyalgia or any other arthritis related topic, contact Becky Woelfel, Senior Information Specialist, at (573) 882-2914 or by email at woelfelr@missouri.edu
The Missouri Arthritis Research Rehabilitation and Training Center (MARRTC) was established in 1971 at the University of Missouri-Columbia Arthritis Center. MARRTC is funded by the U.S. Department of Education's National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (H133B031120) and is the only federally funded arthritis rehabilitation research and training center in the country.
As part of the MU Health Communication Research Center (HCRC), MARRTC's mission is to become a national leader in the areas of disability management and communication, improve the quality of life and promote independent living among people who have arthritis and arthritic conditions. MARRTC's core message is "Disability is everyone's issue."
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