3 Little Known Critical Factors in Successful Fibromyalgia Treatment

If you take a look at the range of fibromyalgia symptoms from widespread pain on both sides of the body, fatigue, disrupted sleep, stress problems, immune and endocrine problems, and difficulty concentrating then you can understand the difficulty medicine has had in understanding Fibromyalgia.

Then take a look below at the other conditions Fibromyalgia co-exists with and it can get downright depressing and confusing. 

Since the traditional approach has not come close to solving the puzzle and their Fibromyalgia treatment is nothing more than temporary symptom relief, this article will look in another direction. 

 Before we get started here’s a post on a related topic: Eliminate Chronic Pain! Retrain Your Nervous System.

In addition to the classic Fibromyalgia symptoms and the diagnostic criteria of pain in at least four of five areas, it often co-exists with these other conditions:

  • Irritable Bowel Syndrome
  • Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
  • Headaches
  • Anxiety 
  • Depression

That’s quite a list and on the surface they all seem unrelated. But, finding the common thread between the range of fibromyalgia symptoms and those other conditions offers tremendous insight into how to structure a successful fibromyalgia treatment program. 

The Foundation of Human Health

The human body is absolutely amazing. It is engineered to express health. The 3 primary means it goes about sustaining health are:

  • The human body is self-monitoring: it is continually monitoring thousands of reactions and processes from oxygen levels to glucose to hormones to heart rate to digestion to enzymes and much more. This is a continual process every second of every day.
  • The human body is self-regulating: it takes all the information from monitoring everything and is continually adjusting everything. This is its effort to maintain balance or what is called homeostasis. If you are exercising the body instantly increases heart rate and breathing rate. 
  • The human body is self-healing: all healing takes place from within the body. You have healed from cuts and scrapes, infections, and perhaps surgery or fractures. The body coordinates all healing.

This is the framework on which human health is built and sustained. The human body is incredibly resilient. From childhood through our teens and into adulthood we encounter numerous challenges to our bodies. From scrapes and cuts to strains and sprains and fractures. We overcome bacterial and viral infections. In fact not only do infections not weaken us, they strengthen our immune system. 

If we can accept that the human body self-monitors, self-regulates, and self-heals then the next question in the case of Fibromyalgia or any other chronic condition is…

“What is interfering with the body’s ability to heal and return to balance?”

Let’s keep it simple. If the body is hardwired to self-regulate and maintain balance or homeostasis and to continually repair and heal itself then there must be some sort of interference to this balancing and healing capacity. 

It is known that stress is the common denominator in the vast majority of human illness and disease. According to the National Institute of Health 75-90% of human disease is related to activation of the stress system. 

Here’s a brief overview of how that happens. This will give us insight into the 3 critical factors in successful fibromyalgia treatment.

Suffice it to say that the world in which we live is a never-ending stream of stress. I don’t have space to get into the details here but many of the situations and events that we encounter in normal daily life are interpreted by our nervous system as a potential threat. How can that be? Simple…

Life has changed at such an accelerated pace over the past 500 years that it has far outstripped the human body’s ability to adapt. What we consider part of normal life didn’t exist even 50 or 100 years ago.

Stress Causes a Chain Reaction

Stress is really not what happens to you or what you encounter. It is much more about how your body responds to the situations, environments, and events of life. How well we navigate these challenges is dependent on everything from stresses in utero, early childhood, our teens, and adulthood. This is why everyone has a different ability to navigate stress and the impact is as different as we are. 

The real or perceived challenges or threats we encounter daily cause…

  • Activation of the Sympathetic “Fight-or-Flight” Nervous System (SNS).
  • The more often this system gets activated the easier it is activated and the more time you spend in this state.
  • The SNS causes:
    • Increased muscle tension and spasm
    • Increased pain and inflammation over time
    • Increased heart rate and blood pressure
    • Increased stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline
    • Reduced digestion
    • Impaired sleep
    • Impaired immune system function
  • With frequent activation and the inevitable major “stresses” many people eventually live in a state of chronic SNS activation
  • The “Fight-or-Flight” system suppresses activity of the Vagus Nerve that is responsible for…
    • Reduced heart rate and blood pressure
    • Reduced muscle tension and pain
    • Healthy digestion
    • Healthy immune response
    • Quality sleep and recovery
    • Reduced stress hormones
    • Reduced inflammation
    • States of rest, relaxation, and ease

This scenario plays out in most of us and is a factor in the emergence or worsening of the majority of human illness and disease. We all have different weaknesses and susceptibilities. 

Some of us develop…

  • Headaches or…
  • Acid Reflux or digestion issues or…
  • Chronic Fatigue or…
  • Insomnia or…
  • High Blood Pressure or…
  • Anxiety or…
  • FIBROMYALGIA or…
  • Just about any chronic illness

This chronic activation of the Sympathetic Nervous System causing a suppression of the Vagus Nerve offers insights into how we can support the body in returning to greater balance so it can better monitor, regulate and heal. 

3 Critical Factors in Successful Fibromyalgia Treatment

Critical Factor #1: Structural Balance. If we want the body to return to balance and homeostasis the first goal should be structural balance and here’s why. When your skeletal system is out of balance as evidenced by any combination of unlevel hips, unlevel shoulders, unlevel head it puts tremendous stress, tension, and pressure on the nervous system. This is especially important in the upper neck where the brainstem is. The brain stem is an area that has tremendous influence over the activity of the Sympathetic System and the Vagus Nerve.

Critical Factor #2: Remove Irritation to the SNS and Vagus Nerve. We’ve already covered the impact of increased SNS activity coupled with suppressed Vagus Nerve function. These two divisions of the nervous system are intimately related to different areas of the spine. The upper neck and cervical spine in general and the pelvis is critical to removing irritation to the Vagus Nerve. The mid and lower back and the rib cage is more connected to the activity of the Sympathetic Nervous System. 

Critical Factor #3: Activation of the Vagus Nerve. It is not enough in a long term chronic condition like Fibromyalgia to balance structure and remove tension and irritation to the Autonomic Nervous System. The activity and tone of the Vagus Nerve must be restored to a level that supports robust health. This is a process that will take commitment, time, and repetition. The great news is that Vagus Nerve activation is easy, simple, and feels really good. 

Over time you can restore greater function to the Vagus Nerve. Not only will that support all the body processes linked to great health but it also has the effect of lowering activity and sensitivity of the “Fight-or-Flight” System. 

When you restore balance to the Autonomic Nervous System and improve the tone of the Vagus Nerve you build resilience. With resilience the impact of stress is very transitory and you return to balance quickly. 

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