How Does A Person Get Fibromyalgia?
Do you know anybody who often complains of having pain all over the body? Such widespread pain in the body may be a consequence of mere nutritional deficiency or, rather unexpectedly, be an indication of a condition called Fibromyalgia. This long-term disease is a common yet underdiagnosed one, and usually, the people who experience it leave it untreated for years because of being unaware of them having it.
However, times are now changing, and people are becoming more medically aware. Thanks to informative medical websites like healthylineoutlet that provide easily comprehensible and precise medical information to its readers, a task to which we’ll always stay committed.
Talking of Fibromyalgia, we’ve already talked in detail about its early signs and symptoms, and now we’ll venture to discover the possible causes behind it. But before that, let’s get a super quick overview of what Fibromyalgia is and what are its common symptoms.
What Is Fibromyalgia?
Fibromyalgia is a disease that’s characterized by pain all over the body and a number of other symptoms. This condition is also referred to as Fibromyalgia Syndrome or FMS. It’s a long-term condition, meaning that it retains its symptoms for a long period of time. However, the intensity of the symptoms can be lessened considerably by taking the right treatment and/or management. Fibromyalgia affects about 2% of the adult population, and almost 2 million adults are affected by it in the US.
Symptoms of Fibromyalgia
Some of the most common symptoms of Fibromyalgia include:
? Widespread pain in the body (muscle and joint pain)
? Feeling always tired/fatigued
? Disturbances in sleep
? Anxiety and/or depressive symptoms
? Digestive issues like diarrhea or constipation
? Pain in the jaw bone or face
? Sudden headaches
? Difficulty concentrating or maintaining focus (brain fog)
? Increased pain sensitivity
? Tingling or numbness in the body
What Causes Fibromyalgia?
Now that we’ve gotten a very quick overview of what Fibromyalgia is and what its most common symptoms let’s jump right towards the nucleus of our today’s discussion: causes of Fibromyalgia.
Fibromyalgia is one of such diseases that don’t have a properly defined cause; however, it’s thought to be associated with:
1. Chemical Imbalances In The Brain
According to research done on patients with Fibromyalgia, it’s discovered that most of them have a hormonal imbalance in their brain. To be specific, these people have extremely low amounts of Serotonin, Dopamine, and Noradrenaline in their brains, resulting in dysregulation of mood, appetite, sleep, behavior, and stress, all of which contribute to Fibromyalgia symptoms. The imbalance of these hormones also results in abnormal transmission of pain signals in the body, which is the most dominant contributing factor to Fibromyalgia.
2. Abnormal Pain Signal Transmission
Another widely believed explanation of Fibromyalgia is that people with this disease have developed an alteration in the way their CNS (central nervous system) processes pain signals moving throughout the body. Because of this alteration, their CNS fails to effectively respond to the pain signals, thereby causing persistent widespread pain in the body. Also, these changes in the CNS’ working may be a result of the chemical imbalance in the brain, as already discussed above.
3. Genetics
Like many other diseases, genetics seem to play a role in Fibromyalgia development. Research suggests that there’s a role (a small one, however) in the development of Fibromyalgia, meaning that some people are at a higher risk of developing Fibromyalgia than others because of their genetic predisposition to the disease. The role of genetics in Fibromyalgia development also goes to explain why some people develop this disease after experiencing certain emotional/physical triggers and not others.
4. Physical/Emotional Triggers
Talking of how some people develop Fibromyalgia after experiencing certain triggers, let’s discuss these possible triggers. Fibromyalgia may be triggered by physical or emotional/psychological stressors like an accident/injury, a viral infection, surgery, childbirth, being in a toxic relationship, breakups, loss of a loved one, etc
5. Sleep Issues
Fibromyalgia may also be a result of a disturbed sleep cycle. Due to irregular sleep patterns, people with Fibromyalgia may experience a hike in other symptoms like increased tiredness and higher pain sensitivity.
Final Word
Understanding the above mentioned probable causes of Fibromyalgia provides a helpful insight into the disease and also its appropriate treatment and management options.
