Chiropractic treatment provides natural pain relief, but can it relieve fibromyalgia pain?

Alternative medicine practitioners hold mixed opinions about the effectiveness of chiropractic care for alleviating the symptoms of fibromyalgia. On one hand, they claim that chiropractic therapy does not alleviate the pain linked to fibromyalgia. On the other hand, they acknowledge the supporting role of chiropractic treatments in improving the syndrome.

The first signs of the onset of fibromyalgia involve chronic levels of fatigue and pain. As the condition develops, the mood of the patient is negatively affected. He or she becomes depressed and his or her quality of life decreases.

Conventional treatment for fibromyalgia relies on antidepressants and antipsychotics to improve the mood of a patient. Unfortunately, pharmaceutical drugs often produce adverse effects that worsen his or her mental and physical health.

Instead of harmful drugs, alternative medicine makes use of health supplements that help a patient control the symptoms of fibromyalgia. 5-HTP, melatonin, and vitamin D can relieve the pain caused by the disease, while St. John’s wort and chlorella can raise the energy levels of the patient. (Related: Chiropractic care can be used for a variety of health needs, including relief, maintenance and corrective applications.)

Chiropractic therapy is supposedly not a medical treatment for pain caused by fibromyalgia

In medical parlance, chronic means “long-term.” The chronic pain associated with fibromyalgia lasts for very long periods. It may outlast the effectiveness of treatments – even those that target the root of the pain – since the body gets used to those approaches and adjusts accordingly.

Since modern treatments have harmful side effects and lose their potency after extended use, some fibromyalgia patients take a different approach to get relief from chronic pain. For instance, they schedule regular sessions with the nearest chiropractor.

Chiropractors help in the medical management of patients. They also assist in managing chronic illnesses.

However, a 2002 study by researchers from the University of Exeter compared the ability of chiropractic treatment and control treatments in alleviating chronic pain. The researchers reported that chiropractic therapy did not perform any better than control techniques such as acupuncture, educational materials, oral medications, physiotherapy, or steroid injections.

Chiropractic therapy puts the “care” in health care

Despite this, chiropractic therapy is recommended alongside the health supplements prescribed for alleviating chronic pain from fibromyalgia. It achieves a placebo effect that contributes to the recovery of a patient.

Many of the symptoms of fibromyalgia are psychosomatic in origin. The body generates physical symptoms that match the emotional and neurological stress experienced by the patient.

Furthermore, chiropractors offer their patients a service that many healthcare professionals fail to provide. They lend a sympathetic ear and make a patient feel that someone believes that their symptoms exist.

Patients benefit from interacting with a medical practitioner who is always asking about the pain they feel, the effectiveness of the technique applied to alleviate that pain, and the next step that the practitioner and the patient will take together. They expect this level of care from all physicians, but health care professionals are often so busy that they cannot spend long periods with every patient.

Chiropractic techniques are not without their own beneficial effects. Stretching and manipulation can improve the flexibility and level of physical activity of a patient. They can also reduce reduce the pain experienced by the person.

The combination of these physical manipulations and getting treated with care relieves the minds of patients. In effect, chiropractors improve the mental well-being of their patients while providing physical relief from chronic pain.

To summarize, while chiropractic care might not be capable of medically treating fibromyalgia pain, it provides real care for the patient, making it an important part of the overall treatment.

Sources include:

SteadyHealth.com

NCBI.NLM.NIH.gov