Fibromyalgia is a chronic disorder characterized by widespread musculoskeletal pain and accompanied by at least two of the following: anxiety, depression, sleep disorder and irritable bowel syndrome. The pain tends to be more global in nature which means it is experienced throughout the entire body. It can be a debilitating condition that affects every facet of an individual’s life, but can be alleviated through the use of integrative family medicine
Where Does My Fibromyalgia Pain Come from?
The type of pain experienced in fibromyalgia originates from dysfunction in the central nervous system. Standard causes of pain that stem from inflammation, such as injuries or infection, are not at the root of this type of pain. The central nervous system begins to process normally nonpainful stimuli as painful which results in continuous pulsations at the end of nerve endings. This is the how insidious this disorder can be and lead an individual to go from one practitioner to another seeking relief.
Conventional pharmaceutical therapies have included NSAIDS and muscle relaxers, although have been mostly ineffective because the pain is not rooted in the type of inflammation or classic musculoskeletal disorders, which these methods are designed to treat. Certain antidepressants such as amitriptyline and antiepileptic drug, pregabalin have resulted in bringing relief to some fibromyalgia sufferers, but can be less tolerated by many due to the side effect profiles.
How Can Integrative Family Medicine Help?
Are there options to address Fibromyalgia that are effective with less side effects of traditional medications? The answer is yes!
A functional, integrative medicine approach is beneficial in helping to peel back the layers of the onion, so to speak, and address the underlying biochemical processes that drive the chronicity of the pain associated with fibromyalgia. Integrative family medicine aims to tackle the root of the pain in a holistic strategy to ease fibromyalgia symptoms, which often results in positive impacts to your overall health.
Phytocannabinoids, including CBD, have been discovered to have medicinal properties and act upon the endocannabinoid system. This is a signaling system throughout the central and peripheral system that is found in almost all pain pathways.
One of the primary benefits of CBD includes pain management. It may provide one avenue for fibromyalgia sufferers to obtain a better quality of life. Another natural product that can be helpful to mitigate the global pain of fibromyalgia is SPM’s or pro resolving mediators. These have been found to influence the physiologic pathways involved in unresolved inflammation. Additionally, an individual’s quality of life has been positively affected which leads to the ability to make other healthy lifestyle choices to affect greater change.
Holistic Health Starts with Integrative Family Medicine
Once a person begins to experience some relief from the constant pain through integrative family medicine, they are generally better equipped to implement other needed lifestyle changes, such as increasing level of mobility/activity to include light stretching, walks, deep breathing exercises or yoga. Another avenue to explore is sleep hygiene and how to increase overall quality and quantity of sleep. Lastly, what one eats or doesn’t eat is important and will no doubt be an influence in overall symptoms associated with fibromyalgia.
At CentreSpring MD, we aim to address each area of a person’s life who struggles with fibromyalgia through effective integrative family medicine. By partnering with the patient, we can help create a comprehensive plan to address the physical, psychological and spiritual, components that can be impacted by this disorder.
References
Brady, D.M., Perle, S.M., & Schneider, M.J. (2006). Commentary: Differential diagnosis of fibromyalgia syndrome: Proposal of a model and algorithm for patients presenting with the primary symptom of chronic widespread pain. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics,493-501
Brady, D.M., & Schneider, M.J. (2012). Pain and fatigue: When it’s fibromyalgia and when it’s not. Townsend Letter, 351, 44-50.
Cahalan, C., Edwards, R.R., Garcia, R.G., Kim, H., Kim, J., Loggia, M.L., Napadow, V., Vangel, M.G., & Wasan, A.D. (2015). Fibromyalgia is characterized by altered frontal and cerebellar structural covariance brain networks. NeuroImage: Clinical, 7, 667-677. doi: 10.1016/j.nicl.2015.02.022
Chiang, N., Dalli, J., & Serhan, C.N. (2015). The resolution code of acute inflammation: Novel pro-resolving mediators in resolution. Seminars in Immunology, 27(3), 200-215. doi: 10.1016/j.smim.2015.03.004
Clauw, D.J., & Harris, R.A. (2008). Newer treatments for fibromyalgia syndrome. The Clinical Risk Management, 4(6), 1331-1342. doi: 10.2147/tcrm.s3396
Deus, J., Harrison, B.J., Lopez-Sola, M., Monfort, J., Puiol, J., Wan Woo, C., & Wager, T.D. (2017). Towards a neurophysiological signature for fibromyalgia. Pain, 158(1), 34-47. doi: 10.1097/j.pain.0000000000000707
Marzo, V.D., & Piscitelli, F. (2015). The endocannabinoid system and its modulation by phytocannabinoids. Neurotherapeutics, 12(4), 692-698. doi: 10.1007/s13311-015-0374-6
