In medicine (and I’m as guilty of this as many) we often consider getting a diagnosis the most important part.

Having a name for what you’re going through, having a medical practitioner recognise that there is a problem can feel like a huge achievement.

And everyone who practices medicine understands just how important this name is for the patient.

But there are some groups of symptoms that medicine just doesn’t understand very well, and these diagnoses are often given to a patient you just don’t know what to do with. This leaves the patient in the frustrating situation of having a name but no solution!

What is Fibromyalgia?

Literally this is “muscle and fibre pain, in more than one place”. That’s a pretty helpful definition right?

Have a look online and through medical literature and you will come across a HUGE range of symptoms associated with fibromyalgia. Which patients can have in a variety of combinations and are usually complicated by the addition of anxiety and depression – two terms which often mean patients don’t get taken as seriously.

How to move forward

By moving! The latest research suggests that increasing daily movement can help with reducing a whole host of the symptoms. A short walk each day, lengthening as you feel stronger could make a dramatic difference.

The central problem

Recognise that this is a central nervous system issue – I’ve spoken a lot about Central Sensitisation and how it magnifies chronic pain.

Fibromyalgia is a clear example of how the central nervous system gets overwhelmed and sensitised which then creates a whole host of additional problems. We must restore and treat the central nervous system before we can iron out all the “extra” symptoms which cause so much pain and discomfort.