CAN MASSAGE REALLY HELP WITH FIBROMYALGIA

First of all let’s talk about fibromyalgia and what it is, what causes Fibromyalgia, who can have fibromyalgia and its symptoms. This is so you can all have a better understanding of this condition, weather you have been diagnosed with fibromyalgia or know someone with it and maybe you just need a little bit more information.

Fibromyalgia is a long-term condition that causes pain all over the body.

What causes fibromyalgia ?

The exact cause of fibromyalgia is not yet known, but it’s thought to be related to abnormal levels of certain chemicals in the brain and changes in the way the central nervous system e.g. the brain, spinal cord and nerves process the pain messages carried around the body.

It’s also thought that some people are more likely to develop fibromyalgia because of genes inherited from their parents.

The majority of cases appears to be triggered by a physically or emotionally stressful event, but not all cases. Events are as follow:

Injury or infection.

Childbirth.

Operations.

Breakdown of a relationship.

Death of a loved one.

Who can have fibromyalgia?

Anyone can have fibromyalgia, although it is said that it effects 7 times more women than men.

fibromyalgia mainly develops between the ages of 30 and 50, but can occur at any age, including children and the elderly.

It’s not clear exactly how many people have fibromyalgia, but it is showing to be a relatively common condition as more people are getting diagnosed.

It is suggested that approximately 1 in 20 people may have fibromyalgia to some degree.

One of the main reasons it’s not clear how many people have it is because fibromyalgia can be a difficult condition to diagnose.

There’s no specific test for the condition, and the symptoms can be similar to a number of other conditions. The diagnose process is actually a process of elimination of other conditions.

Symptoms of fibromyalgia.

As well as all over pains, people with fibromyalgia may also have:

Muscle stiffness.

Constant dull body pain that lasts for more than 3 months.

Increased sensitivity to pain.

Sleep problems, sometimes cannot sleep at night.

Memory problems it is usually referred as (fibro fog), difficulties in focusing or paying attention.

Extreme tiredness (fatigue), people with this condition often feel tired and weak, sleep for longer periods and wakes up with pain.

Insomnia or waking up feeling just as tired as when you went to sleep.

Stiffness upon waking or after staying in one position for too long.

Tension or migraine headaches.

Jaw and facial tenderness.

Sensitivity to one or more of the following: odours, noise, bright lights, medications, certain foods, and cold.

Anxiety & depression.

Numbness or tingling in the face, arms, hands, legs, or feet.

Increase in urinary urgency or frequency (irritable bladder).

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

And much more.

How fibromyalgia is treated.

Although there’s currently no cure for fibromyalgia, there are treatments to help relieve some of the symptoms and make the condition easier to live with.

Treatment tends to be a combination of:

medicine, such as antidepressants and painkillers

talking therapies, such as cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and counselling

lifestyle changes, such as exercise programmes and relaxation techniques

Exercise, massage & complementary therapies in particular have been found to have a number of important benefits for people with fibromyalgia, including helping to reduce pain.

So now you know a little more about this condition and as you can see there are only a few treatments that can help with the symptoms of fibromyalgia.

I’m now going to talk about MASSAGE and can massage really help with fibromyalgia well the answer to this question is YES, but it depends on what massage and if the therapist really knows what they are doing.

A little bit about us relating to fibromyalgia.

Here at The Therapy Room we work very closely with Fibromyalgia groups/organisations in were we provide massage and complementary therapies to their members. We also provide treatments to charity organisations and we work along with a few counselling organisations also. In providing treatments to the charities/organisations we have the privilege to treat quite a few clients/members that have been diagnosed with fibromyalgia. Our senior therapist/owner (Adelaide) is qualified in massage & complementary therapies for people living with cancer and the medically frail witch gives us an extra leverage in treating people with fibromyalgia, as so does gaining our knowledge about this condition from fibromyalgia groups/organisations.

You can rest assure that are knowledge is bang on point and up to date. We also have quite a few clients with fibromyalgia on our books and the good feedback we get from our clients is overwhelming. It’s a good indication that we are doing our job right and effective.

How massage helps fibromyalgia

Improve sleep: Massage sessions in the evening will benefit you to allow better quality of sleep at night, thereby helping your body to repair and rejuvenate at night more effectively.

Improves muscle tonicity: Aids muscles to restore, strengthen and promotes vitality to the body.

Improves mental clarity: A relaxing session can raise healthy awareness and relieve mental stress.

Headache relief: Improving blood flow to the brain can relieve the physical source of headache, while the relief received can further keep your mind in healthier thoughts.

lowering the effects of anxiety & depression: These effects include hormonal fluctuations (ups & downs), and this can interfere with appetite and chronic fight-or-flight mode. Massage can restore the hormonal balance of the body, thereby lowering these effects.

What we DO know and what other massage therapist SHOULD know when massaging a client with fibromyalgia.

Along with the information above there are a few additional things your therapist should know and take into consideration before any treatment with a fibromyalgia client, and they are as follows:

Not every client is the same.

Every client experiences different symptoms.

Clients can have good fibromyalgia days and bad days, these are known as flair ups.

Each client will have pain points mainly the joint area e.g. neck, shoulders, elbows, wrists, fingers, hips, knees, ankles and toes, but they can be any were on the body

No 2 clients are the same and these pain points will vary from client to client.

Clients have different pain thresholds some my like and respond better to lite massage. Some may prefer deeper massage, but the pressure should not be to deep as people with fibromyalgia have a lower pain threshold, so sports massage should not be done.

Then there are the clients that just dont like massage at all this could be because they don’t like being massaged or their sensitivity pain levels are very high and it is basically to painful for the client no matter how lite the pressure. The therapist should be willing to adapt the treatment to suit the client.

Clients pain threshold and pain points should be assessed before, during and after treatment.

Another factor the therapist should take into consideration is weather a client responds to hot or cold treatments, the majority of clients respond to hot treatments as it helps with muscle tension, but some like cold treatments and this can make the treatment a little more awkward, but again the therapist should be willing to adapt.

There are alot more to take into consideration and other therapists should know about, we can’t give away all our secrets.

If the therapist is qualified to a high standard and has an extensive knowledge of fibromyalgia then there is no reason that any person with fibromyalgia can not get a massage, UNLESS they have other health conditions that prohibited it. But all medical condition, medication and medical treatments should be discussed with the therapist before treatment.

Thank You for reading our Blog

The Therapy Room

Owner – Adelaide Mckay