Acupuncture treatment is known for decreasing pain and inflammation in its various forms as well as improving energy and any emotional imbalances. So, it is not surprising that acupuncture works for fibromyalgia as it encompasses all of these factors. Fibromyalgia is a prevalent disease in the United States, about 5 million people to be exact, even though many western medicine providers tend to brush this off as either all in your head or having to do with emotions.
It is, however, a real condition that should not be swept under the rug, but addressed from the root cause for the individual. Maybe it’s because there are some standard medicine providers who truly don’t believe it to be an issue, but it also may be because standard medicine doesn’t have a definitive treatment for fibromyalgia. Another issue is that fibromyalgia presents differently in every person, innately multi-factorial, and as of now, standard medicine does not treat the individual, but the broad array of general symptoms from any one condition. This type of treatment obviously has its place, but in the case of many conditions, it’s simply not sufficient.
Fibromyalgia Treatment
Surprisingly, in this day and age with all of the advancements in modern medicine, there is still a lot of mystery that surrounds fibromyalgia in standard medicine. As of now it is not evident amongst standard medical professionals what the main reason is that fibromyalgia occurs. Fibromyalgia is a chronic condition that causes fatigue, pain, and other symptoms that are widespread throughout the body. Additionally, those afflicted with fibromyalgia may be more sensitive to pain known as abnormal pain perception processing.
Fibromyalgia Symptoms:
- Sleep problems like insomnia
- Fatigue
- Emotional and mental stress such as depression
- Headaches
- Hypersensitivity
- Lower abdominal cramps and pain
- Bladder control issues
- Muscle pain
- Dry eyes
- Cognitive difficulties – known as “fibro fog”
- Widespread pain
Perhaps the most stand-out symptom besides widespread pain is the brain fog experienced by fibromyalgia patients which encompass trouble staying alert, memory lapses, and difficulty concentrating. Many times, fibromyalgia co-exists with other conditions such as IBS, anxiety, depression, Temporomandibular joint disorders (TMJD), migraines, and more. These symptoms tend to start after a serious event such as surgery, infection, physical trauma, or psychological stress.
On the other hand, for some people, symptoms can gradually worsen or collect over time without a single event that provoked it. Similarly, while there is no one main cause known by standard medicine yet, there are many reasons that fibromyalgia could potentially derive from that standard providers tend to base treatment off of.
Fibromyalgia Causes:
- Infection
- Genetics – fibromyalgia tends to run in families
- Emotional or physical trauma
- Stress
- Chronic illness
- Age – those over 40 are more likely to develop fibromyalgia
- Sex assigned at birth – women are 2x more likely to have fibromyalgia
- Hormone changes
In general, in standard medicine fibromyalgia is treated with things like physical therapy stretches, psychological treatment with a mental health professional, pharmaceutical treatment, and occupational therapy to mitigate daily symptoms. Since there are no definitive tests that can confirm a fibromyalgia diagnosis, it is many times misdiagnosed in standard medicine.
Acupuncture for Fibromyalgia
Acupuncture is a powerful treatment for fibromyalgia, and is most known for treating various types of pain and emotional issues, which is the essence of fibromyalgia symptoms. Integrating acupuncture into your treatment repertoire either on its own or in conjunction with standard medical treatment is as simple as understanding the benefits acupuncture can offer for a condition like fibromyalgia. Being that fibromyalgia is caused by potentially multiple factors, it only makes sense that one should use a treatment that is also multi-faceted as opposed to treating singular symptoms.
Benefits of Acupuncture for Fibromyalgia:
- Using hair-thin acupuncture needles to treat specific acupuncture points in accordance to your unique presenting symptoms to increase blood flow, and release pain-relieving hormones like endorphins to mitigate your pain.
- Decrease stiffness and inflammation
- Decreases or can even eliminate the need for pharmaceuticals
- Resets the immune system for endorphin release, and neurotransmitters to heal.
- Improves flexibility and range of motion
- Long lasting results
- Prevents future damage, and increases body immunity
- Promotes relaxation with improved blood flow to help with sleep issues
The way that standard medicine looks at a condition like fibromyalgia is very different from the way that Eastern medicine looks at it. In standard medicine, the goal is to help manage symptoms while in eastern medicine the goal is to treat the person as a whole both emotionally and physically.
Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has been around for thousands of years to treat these types of conditions, and it is fully believed that physical and emotional pain is linked. It is important in TCM to release any blockages to restore balance in the body by treating the root causes of your fibromyalgia rather than masking the symptoms with medication. In general, TCM sees fibromyalgia as a complex issue that involves more factors than just the surface symptoms.
Causes of Fibromyalgia from a TCM Perspective:
- Exposed to external factors – factors like cold, wind, and dampness, can contribute to the pain and other symptoms experienced from fibromyalgia and lead to imbalance in the body.
- Trauma – much like standard medicine, any physical trauma or injury can cause blockages within the body contributing to fibromyalgia symptoms.
- Stress – TCM knows that emotions are associated with the body’s Qi (vital energy in the body), and any stress, anxiety, and other powerful negative emotions can cause Qi to become blocked and lead to pain.
- Absence of exercise – physical activity is necessary for maintaining the flow of blood and Qi in the body to keep fibromyalgia symptoms at bay.
- Poor nutrition – ingesting high processed foods, unhealthy fats, or refined sugars can also lead to imbalances in the body.
A licensed acupuncturist will potentially use a variety of techniques to determine your TCM diagnosis in order to give the most individualized treatment possible. In general, they will ask a lot of detailed questions, and utilize pulse diagnosis, tongue diagnosis, and palpation to determine the severity of your issues then provide a treatment plan for your needs. All of these tools help your acupuncturist to determine where the fibromyalgia came from and where the true issues lie so they can make an informed diagnosis on you as a unique person with unique symptoms.
Treatment Options Used by Licensed Acupuncturists for Fibromyalgia:
- Acupuncture – utilizing specific acupuncture points on the body based on your consultation to treat your fibromyalgia.
- Herbal Medicine – these are usually prescribed along with your acupuncture treatment to address underlying imbalances while out of the office. Be sure that your licensed acupuncturist is also an herbalist, and can safely prescribe herbal remedies to you.
- Mind-body exercises – these can include qigong and tai chi which involve gentle movements and deep breathing to improve energy, increase relaxation, and decrease stress.
- Nutrition therapy – your acupuncturist will likely also give nutritional recommendations for you to address imbalances contributing to your fibromyalgia. There are specific foods within TCM that address specific symptoms and have a large effect on the way the body functions overall. For instance, for fibromyalgia, it may be recommended that you need to elevate the ingesting of nourishing, warm foods to boost Qi and blood flow. Alternatively, steer clear from damp, cold foods as these can exacerbate symptoms of fibromyalgia.
- Cupping – this is when glass cups are placed on the skin to create a vacuum which decreases pain and inflammation, and increases blood flow. It also helps with muscle soreness that is linked to fibromyalgia.
- Tui Na Massage – this is a Chinese massage where pressure is applied to points on the body to decrease muscle pain associated with fibromyalgia.
- Moxibustion – while this is a treatment option that is not used in all practices, there are no doubts about its benefits. This involves the burning of a small amount of the dried mugwort herb on the acupuncture points or near the acupuncture points. This aids in fatigue, decreasing pain, and decreasing inflammation.
There are many ways that acupuncture and TCM can help with your fibromyalgia, and meeting with a licensed acupuncturist can help to understand how it can make a difference for you as an individual.
Try Acupuncture for Fibromyalgia
Unfortunately, standard medicine doesn’t offer much in the way of treatment for fibromyalgia patients, and can sometimes make you feel like your pain isn’t real or should be overlooked. While the stigma surrounding fibromyalgia as a condition has gotten much better in recent years, there is still a large stigma out there especially amongst standard medical providers. In all transparency, fibromyalgia is difficult to navigate in general as there is no pinpointed cause or way that a person’s symptoms will present.
However, that being said, acupuncture and TCM approaches medical care in a multi-layered approach fitting perfectly with the very essence of what fibromyalgia is as a condition…multi-layered. There is a place for standard medicine, and whether you decide to use a comprehensive approach or opt to try acupuncture and TCM on its own, the TCM approach to your fibromyalgia could make a world of difference for your quality of life with fibromyalgia.