According to the CDC, fibromyalgia is a widespread pain disorder that affects about four million adults in the US. The cause of fibromyalgia is unknown, but it causes various issues, including chronic fatigue and trouble sleeping.
People living with fibromyalgia are at risk for insomnia, causing mental and physical distress. If you're living with the disease and having trouble sleeping, Dr. Jason Ablett and the Pinnacle Health Chiropractic team are here to help.
Dr. Ablett is an experienced chiropractor providing various treatments for fibromyalgia, including manual tissue manipulation, rehabilitative exercise, and massage therapy.
Fibromyalgia is a chronic medical issue that causes widespread musculoskeletal pain. It's more common in women than men, and the cause is usually unknown. Experts think the pain comes from a central nervous system malfunction and how your brain perceives pain signals.
The symptoms of fibromyalgia vary and often go through periods of flares and remissions. Besides widespread pain, fibromyalgia causes other symptoms that include:
These symptoms may occur over a few days or several weeks. They are often debilitating and cause significant distress that interferes with daily activities.
Trouble sleeping, or insomnia, is one of the main problems associated with fibromyalgia. Sleep issues, along with chronic pain and mood disturbances, are key markers experts use to diagnose the disease.
There's a strong link between chronic pain and sleep problems. During a fibromyalgia flare, people often have trouble sleeping because they can't get comfortable falling asleep or staying asleep.
Conversely, regular lack of sleep also lowers the pain threshold in people with fibromyalgia, further worsening symptoms.
According to the Sleep Foundation, studies show that people living with fibromyalgia often experience periods of wakefulness during non-rapid eye movement sleep (NREM). They also have less slow-wave sleep, attributed to insomnia and increased fatigue and pain.
Although there's no cure for fibromyalgia, you can take hold of the condition and improve symptoms, including insomnia. The first step is seeking treatment for the chronic musculoskeletal pain related to fibromyalgia.
Dr. Ablett offers proven nonsurgical treatments for fibromyalgia pain and other symptoms. He assesses your specific symptoms and provides manual chiropractic adjustments, rehabilitative exercise, and massage therapy to improve pain.
After addressing fibromyalgia pain, you can also improve sleep by following these expert tips:
Managing fibromyalgia symptoms and adopting a healthy lifestyle often help with sleep disturbances from the disease. Dr. Ablett sets regular appointments to ensure you get help during a flare or to keep the condition in remission.
Call Pinnacle Health Chiropractic today to schedule a consultation with Dr. Ablett for fibromyalgia treatment, or request an appointment here on our website.
