Fibromyalgia is characterized by chronic widespread muscle pain located throughout the body. Many accompanying symptoms include sleep disturbance, severe fatigue, IBS or other digestive disorders and anxiety. The diagnosis of FM is controversial in western medicine due to a lack of objective testing and inconclusiveness with medical imaging. Also, the relationship between emotional stressors and its contribution to pain are poorly understood. The purpose of this article is to help explain this disorder through an Eastern perspective. For a more scientific explanation of the condition please click here.
Oriental medicine has always acknowledged the relationship between our emotional psyche and physical function. In fact, specific emotions have an affinity for specific organs. For instance, stress affects the liver and can interfere with blood flow. If blood stagnates and the hepatic portal vein can not drain properly, this in turn leads to pain and poor digestion. This syndrome is classified as liver overacting on the spleen/stomach. After treating many fibromyalgia patients, I believe this is one very prevalent aspect of the disease. Another common co factor in fibromyalgia is a syndrome called kidney deficiency. The kidneys in Oriental Medicine are the equivalent to our DNA. We inherit specific predispositions that can manifest later in life. As we age our Kidney function naturally declines. Symptoms such as fatigue, lower back pain, frequent urination and cold limbs/body are all classical signs. The kidneys are also effected by traumatic events of past. The emotion of the kidney is fear and often becomes 'locked' in our bodies’ soft tissue. Over time this manifests as wide spread pain that is worse with stress, anxiety and depression.
While FM is characterized by widespread pain, specific points on the body tend to be more painful than others. These painful points provide insight into the underlying cause of the disease. The painful points often are not the points treated. Acupuncture works by clearing stagnant trauma, emotional and physical, out of our bodies’ cells. It provides circulation and nourishment when deficient and regulates our physiology to enable a self healing response.
There are many alternative forms of treatment that can help Fibromyalgia. Some of the more common treatments are acupuncture, biofeedback, psychotherapy, herbal medicine and guided relaxation techniques. There have been many controlled studies showing the effectiveness of acupuncture for treating fibromyalgia. FM is viewed as a central neurological disorder. This means the painful sensations are originating from the brain to the periphery. Therefore, our brains neurological signals must be reprogrammed in order for the pain to cease. This is one reason FM responds favorably to acupuncture. It is theorized that acupuncture helps the brain to self regulate (neuromodulation) and ultimately correct the signals that are misfiring. It’s as if a light switch is stuck on and the light can’t be turned off. Changing the light bulb will be futile; one needs to rewire the circuitry. Acupuncture also directly releases hormones that block pain and allows the body to overcome the ongoing stress response.
Jesse Phelps, M.T.O.M., L.Ac, B.Sc.
Phelpsacupuncture.com
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