Sunday, May 12, 2013

4 Ways to cope with Fibromyalgia



What is Fibromyalgia?

The Mayo Clinic describes fibromyalgia as “ a disorder characterized by widespread musculoskeletal pain accompanied by fatigue, sleep, memory and mood issues. Researchers believe that fibromyalgia amplifies painful sensations by affecting the way your brain processes pain signals.”

Who gets Fibromyalgia?

Anyone can get fibromyalgia, but women are more likely to have fibromyalgia than men.
Many times fibromyalgia can show itself after a trauma or an accident.

How to be diagnosed?

There is no one test to diagnose fibromyalgia, but it is usually diagnosed by a Rheumatologist. If the individual has had overall body pain which has lasted for more than 3months and reacts to at least 11 of 18 tender points which are located all over the body, then fibromyalgia is indicated. 

Take your life back

Dealing with fibromyalgia can be challenging at times, but there are a few things you can do to help cope with your pain.

Proper nutrition- Nutrition is so important and reducing inflammation in the body is key. Testing for food allergies, sensitivities and candida is a good place to start. Eliminate gluten, dairy and sugar from your diet as they are acidic to the body. Keeping the body alkaline is a sure way to reduce inflammation in our bodies. Having 75% of your plate being green vegetables is a great rule of thumb to keep you more alkaline.
Meditation- Thirty minutes of meditation or mindfulness a day, has shown to reduce pain and anxiety for those with fibromyalgia.

Hypnosis- Hypnosis is a wonderful tool to learn about your past and you may have an underlying trauma or issue that is causing your fibromyalgia. The field of mind body medicine and epigenetics is showing us how our thoughts and beliefs can affect our health and well being.

Gentle Exercise- Walking, swimming, yoga or qigong are excellent ways of aligning our breath with gentle exercise which can help with pain management.

Shirley Plant is the author of Finally... Food I Can Eat, a dietary guide and cookbook for people with food allergies. Shirley also offers dietary consulting and menu planning via Delicious Alternatives
twitter @sherrecipes

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