How Can I Get Relief For Undiagnosed Fibromyalgia Pain
Talk to your doctor about your symptoms of fibromyalgia, including the body aches, aching joints, painful tender points, and fatigue. With a multifaceted program of effective drugs, alternative therapies, psychotherapy, and mind/body remedies, you should be able to find good relief of symptoms and reclaim your active life again.
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Risk Factors For Developing Upper Back Pain
There tends to be an increased risk for back pain as a person ages, but that correlation does not hold up as well in the upper back compared to the neck and lower back. Some research indicates that adolescentsparticularly older adolescentsare at higher risk for upper back pain compared to other age groups.1
Other risk factors for developing upper back pain include having weakened core and back muscles, female gender, other musculoskeletal pain, and poorer mental health.2
What Causes Chronic Fatigue
Chronic fatigue is not just a matter of a lack of proper rest. Scientists have long been researching what causes this extreme fatigue to occur. Suggestions as to the underlying cause include:
- Viral infections
- Changes in cortisol levels
- An upper cervical misalignment
Upper cervical misalignments are a particularly interesting theory. First of all, this would indicate head or neck trauma in the patients history, but not necessarily anything significant or recent. These upper neck bones are very moveable, and even a mild injury can cause a misalignment, leading to a gradual onset of symptoms. Second, this is something very correctable.
To learn more about the connection between head and neck injuries and fibromyalgia download our complimentary e-book Simple and Extremely Effective Ways to End Fibromyalgia Symptoms without Drugs by clicking the image below.
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Can Back Pain Be Prevented
Recurring back pain resulting from improper body mechanics may be prevented by avoiding movements that jolt or strain the back, maintaining correct posture, and lifting objects properly. Many work-related injuries are caused or aggravated by stressors such as heavy lifting, contact stress , vibration, repetitive motion, and awkward posture.Recommendations for keeping ones back healthy
The Acute Stress Response: Influences On Pain
Under normal conditions, cortisol secretion during an acute stress response serves to mobilize glucose reserves for energy, inhibit pain and nonvital organ systems, and promote an adaptive fight-or-flight response. Additionally, stress-induced cortisol secretion may facilitate the formation of a fear-based memory conditioned to elicit a sensitized fight-or-flight response to promote survival and avoidance of future threat. However, these effects may be specific to the fear or stress-provoking stimuli. For example, whereas cortisol secretion during a nonpain-related stress response may distract attention from a concurrent painful stimulus, thereby inhibiting pain, cortisol secretion in response to pain may intensify its experience and condition a fear-based memory of pain.,, Whatever the perceived threat or focus of attention may be, excessive cortisol secretion is likely to intensify its experience, facilitate the formation of a fear-based memory, and condition a sensitized physiologic stress response.
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Our App Helps Reduce Persistent Pain
- Monitor patterns in your fatigue
Monitoring when your fatigue is at its highest can allow you to see patterns you can identify times in the day when you have the most energy and plan activities to utilize these times.
- Maintain a good sleep routine
When sleep is challenging to achieve, its vital to give yourself the best chance possible. Going to bed and rising at the same day each day winding down before bed using relaxation techniques keeping your bedroom comfortable being active during the day and more, can all help you to sleep more peacefully.
- Eat a nutritious diet
Ensuring that you are eating energy rich foods and healthy balanced meals to help your body fight fatigue. Replacing foods that contribute to inflammation or provide empty calories like processed foods and junk food with healthy alternatives, such as fruits, vegetables and healthy proteins, can make a significant difference.
- Drink enough
Dehydration is often overlooked without the right amount of liquids your body can struggle just as much as without the right nutrients. Your body needs water to carry nutrients around your body, to help keep your digestive system moving, to help rid the body of harmful bacteria and more: every system in your body uses water!
- Avoid caffeine
- Stay active
- Rest regularly
- Reduce stress
- Maintain your mental health
- Use mindfulness or talking therapies
Please note: This article is made available for educational purposes only, not to provide personal medical advice.
What To Do If You Suspect Something Else
Theres only one major tiphere: See a doctor, whether it is your primary care physician or aspecialist. Each condition that mimics spinal problems comes with its own treatments,but the first step is an accurate diagnosis. For example, a nerve test such aselectromyography can help a doctor spot neuropathy, and a blood-flow testsuch as the ankle-brachial index can distinguish between spinal stenosisand peripheral arterial disease.
Its so important to look atall of your symptoms and history and do a thorough examination, Dr. Khalafsays. Its how we can tell the difference between a back issue and a medicalcondition.
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Other Signs Of Inflammatory Back Pain
Back pain at night is one of the more obvious clues for inflammatory back pain, but there are other key signs to keep in mind as well. There are slightly different sets of criteria for inflammatory back pain, but generally speaking they include the following:
- Back pain improves with exercise or activity
- Back pain gets worse with rest
- Back pain in the morning that lasts more than 30 minutes
- Gradual, not sudden, onset
The Chronic Stress Response: Influences On Pain
Chronic reactivation of a sensitized stress response exhausts the HPA axis, and cortisol dysfunction is commonly implicated in idiopathic pain and inflammation.,,,, Chronic stress-induced hypocortisolism has been well documented and linked to pain somatization disorders, such as fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, chronic pelvic pain, and temporomandibular disorder.,, Long-term stress has been shown to attenuate the cortisol awakening response and contribute to morning fatigue, pain, and inflammation., In a study of 121 middle-aged adults, a blunted cortisol awakening response was predictive of pain and fatigue later that day. Similarly, hypocortisolism has been associated with low back pain, and a low cortisol awakening response was associated with leg pain intensity, pain catastrophizing, and low coping scores in 42 patients diagnosed with lumbar disk herniations., Furthermore, long-term follow-up investigations have suggested a predictive relationship between hypocortisolism and new-onset musculoskeletal pain.,
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Physical Inactivity And Obesity
A lack of exercise and unused muscles due to living with a chronic pain condition can cause tiredness and exhaustion. Frequent inactivity may also lead to a loss of muscle mass, which is especially important to combat conditions such as severe arthritis. One study pointed out that people with fibromyalgia who spent more time doing light physical activity had lower levels of fatigue and pain than those who were inactive. Being overweight also increases the risk of developing sleep apnea and other sleep disturbances.
Poor Diet
Not getting adequate and healthy food and fluids in ones diet can be a subtle, longer-forming cause of fatigue. Your body needs plenty of water and a substantial amount of vitamins and minerals to operate efficiently. Relying on junk food and an insufficient amount of water can cause ones fatigue to be directly stemming from dehydration and vitamin deficiency.
Solution: Assess your dietary and physical needs. Do changes need to be made? Many lifestyle adjustments are important to counteract the frequency of fatigue. A doctor may suggest seeing a physical therapist or a nutritionist to reevaluate your needs in these areas. When combined with an exercise plan, patients will benefit from implementing a complementary treatment to go along with any medications taken.
Back Pain Symptoms That May Indicate A Serious Problem
See your doctor if back pain doesnt improve within 2 weeks of developing. There are times when back pain can be a symptom of a serious medical problem.
Symptoms that can indicate a more serious medical problem are:
These tips can help ease back pain when it happens. They can also help you prevent back pain in the first place.
Carry less
Heavy briefcases, laptop bags, suitcases, and purses can add unnecessary stress and strain to your neck and spine.
Try to reduce what you need to carry, and use bags that distribute the weight more evenly, such as a backpack. If you can, use a bag with wheels to keep weight off your back entirely.
Work your core
The muscles in and around your abdomen and back help keep you upright and carry you through your physical activities. Strengthening them can also reduce the chances of pain, strain, or damage to your back.
Plug strength training workouts with a core focus into your regular fitness routine a few times a week.
Improve your posture
- are a smoker
- have been diagnosed with a specific condition like arthritis
Your mental health also has an effect on your risk of back pain. You may be at a higher risk of back pain if you have a stressful job or have depression and anxiety.
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Cfs Sufferers Show Symptoms Such As:
- Symptom onset following a viral infection such as influenza or mononucleosis.
- Debilitating fatigue which has continued for at least six months and is accompanied by a sore throat and/or other signs of systemic illness such as muscle pain and inflammatory responses throughout the body
- Elevated levels of the cellular antiviral enzyme known as RNaseL.
Physical Therapy May Be A Feasible Treatment For Cfs Symptoms
MNT asked Dr. Rowe what it is about nerve and muscle strain that might trigger symptoms of CFS.
Our focus was on establishing the potential for nerve/muscle strain to aggravate the cardinal symptoms of ME/CFS, but was not designed to examine the mechanisms for why it might do so, he told us.
We do know that a straight leg raise maneuver places traction on the muscles and peripheral nerves in the lower limb, as well as on the lower spinal nerve roots, the meninges, and the sympathetic nervous system chain, he continued.
In addition, it can impose a downward pull on the spinal cord. How that mechanical strain then might translate into symptoms is unclear at this time.
While further research into the link between nerve and muscle strain and CFS is required, the team believes the findings point to physical therapy as a possible treatment for symptoms of CFS.
Our study established that the presence of neuromuscular sensitivity to strain is another potentially treatable mechanism for the aggravation of symptoms, and possibly a reason for the persistence of ME/CFS in some patients, Dr. Rowe told us.
Dr. Rowe said he and his team now plan to replicate their findings using more precise measurement instruments and a larger sample size, which will make it easier to pinpoint the underlying mechanisms of how nerve and muscle strain may trigger CFS symptoms.
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Energy Conservation To Prevent Fatigue In Chronic Pain
Chronic pain can make it difficult to get out of bed in the morning, let alone get things done. That’s why energy conservation is so important. Learn about this technique that can help you manage your energy and feel better in spite of chronic pain along with tips to put it into practice.
Tips To Alleviate Fatigue
The pain-fatigue cycle can be a difficult one to break, but addressing one problem may help you alleviate the other. Listen to your body and its limits, and talk to your doctor about managing your pain and fatigue.
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If You Have Chronic Back Pain That Wakes You Up In The Second Half Of The Night It Could Be A Type Of Inflammatory Arthritis Called Ankylosing Spondylitis
This video is part of a new campaign about ankylosing spondylitis awareness from the nonprofit patient community CreakyJoints. The videos in this campaign were produced with support from Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation.
If youre reading this article, chances are your back pain is bad so bad that its disrupting your ability to sleep well, which generally makes everything in life worse. Poor sleep can exacerbate pain symptoms, affect daytime fatigue, and contribute to a host of other health problems, from heart disease to weight gain to diabetes.
Its an important first step that youre taking your back pain at night seriously and looking for answers as to what is causing it.
Back pain at night could be due a number of different health concerns , but one that often goes overlooked is inflammatory back pain from conditions like ankylosing spondylitis or axial spondyloarthritis . These are types of arthritis that affect your spine and other parts of the body, causing inflammation, chronic pain, and, over time, joint damage that can cause the bones in your spine to fuse together.
In a study presented at the 2018 annual meeting of the American College of Rheumatology, morning stiffness and pain that wakes people up from sleep were the two most common symptoms in people with back pain from inflammatory arthritis like AS.
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When To See A Doctor
Lower back pain, when standing or walking, is not always a cause for concern and may get better with home treatment, such as rest, OTC pain relievers, hot and cold therapy, and gentle stretching.
A person should see their doctor if the pain is severe, does not get better, or occurs along with other concerning or debilitating symptoms.
People with lower back pain should seek immediate medical attention if they experience loss of bowel or bladder control or leg movement becomes severely affected.
Some tips to help prevent lower back pain include:
- Exercising for at least 30 minutes on most days of the week. Where possible, try doing a mixture of low- and high-intensity physical activities exercises, such as bike riding, walking, aerobics classes, swimming, or using an elliptical machine.
- Practicing good posture when walking, such as by keeping the back straight and avoiding leaning too far forward or slumping.
- Making appropriate adjustments to workstations to improve ergonomics. Examples include placing the computer screen at eye level and using a supportive and properly-adjusted chair.
- Using proper lifting techniques, including holding an object as close as possible to the body, maintaining a wide stance, bending from the legs and not the back, and avoiding lifting objects that are too heavy.
- Eating a healthful, balanced diet that includes plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins.
You’re Having Problems With Your Bowels Or Urination
If your back pain is paired with a loss of control over your bowels or urination, then it’s time to seek help immediately at a local emergency room. These symptoms point to cauda equina syndrome, where the nerves in the lower spine have become paralyzed. While rare, this syndrome can be permanently damaging to the nerves if left untreated. If you experience these symptoms, especially accompanied by numbness in the legs, then you may need surgery to decompress the nerves and preserve their overall function.
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Supine Straight Leg Raise Triggered Cfs Symptoms
To further investigate their observations, the researchers conducted a clinical study involving 60 individuals with CFS and 20 without the condition.
Participants completed either a supine straight leg raise or a sham leg raise for 15 minutes. In the supine straight leg raise, a person lays on their back while raising and holding one leg the exercise is designed to strain the muscles and nerves.
Every 5 minutes during the 15-minute activity, subjects self-reported any body pain, lightheadedness, headaches, and problems with concentration. Participants were also required to report such symptoms 24 hours after the activity.
The team found that patients with CFS who completed the supine straight leg raise reported experiencing more body pain and concentration difficulties during the activity, compared with CFS patients who completed the sham leg raise.
What is more, 24 hours after, patients with CFS who completed the supine straight leg raise reported more intense lightheadedness and poorer symptoms overall, compared with CFS patients who did the sham exercise.
Among subjects who completed the supine straight leg raise, those with CFS reported experiencing more symptoms during the activity and 24 hours after, compared with individuals without CFS.
Based on their findings, the researchers suggest that even mild to moderate nerve and muscle strain could be enough to trigger symptoms of CFS.
