Fibromyalgia
As part of the IC bladder pain syndrome fibromyalgia(FM) is a common(along with vulvodynia, chronic prostatitis, IBS, GERD) It's estimated that 25% of people with IC have complicating FM but that percentage is probably much higher than the estimate because many with IC have some symptoms of FM but don't meet the strict criteria for diagnosis Nonetheless the associated symptoms of FM make the IC syndrome difficult to manage
Fibromyalgia as a Disease Label
More women than men are affected and the symptoms may be unilateral(on just one side)....usually more on the right side due to the competitive nature of the person affected The symptoms are muscular in origin and don't come from the joint itself but from muscles around the joint called the periarticular muscles It was called muscular rheumatism because of the confusion with the joint disease label of rheumatoid arthritis which is a true joint autoimmune disorder
The sed rate as a measure of inflammation is normal Symptoms are triggered by cold damp weather; worse in the evening and at sunrise and sunset mimicing rheumatoid arthritis
When there is poor posture people are prone to sprains in ligaments and tendons There is generally poor muscle tone due to lack of exercise due to pain It's associated with the overweight condition and sciatica is common although it's not a condition dependent on diagnosis
Frozen shoulder or tennis elbow are common presenting symptom complexes as well as costochondritis from pendular breast tissue One has to think of the diagnosis even with isolated carpal tunnel syndrome
To make a diagnosis according to the American Rheumatology Association(ARA) there must be 16 of 18 trigger points involved This may not be the case often times and hence the above skewing of the percentage involvement Interestingly all the trigger points used by the ARA are marma points and associated with the colon, respiratory or water channels of the energy body There are other points described that are not necessarily trigger points but are called tender points such as the deltoid, biceps/triceps, and subscapularis
The Energy Science Understanding
Not surprisingly FM arises like IC from the colon and the disseminated qualities of hot and mobile find defective energetic spaces in the muscle tissue layer of the body Due to the mobile quality there is a tendency for one trigger point to become affected, only for another area to become affected later This migratory symptom complex of FM makes it very characteristic among myalgias
Since the colon is the seat of emotions in the energy body mind is often involved and mental toxicity is the result This must be taken into consideration in management of individual patients There is often erratic digestion in FM cases consistent with the colonic origin and an IBS like picture may be the result
5 Ways to Deal with FM Symptoms
#1 Ginger Baking Soda bath....1/3cup of dry ginger and 1/3cup of baking soda in a warm tub of water Soak for 20minutes
#2 Marma or accupressure can be very effective but the touch should be light...using mahanaryan or nutmeg oil to points when doing therapy can be helpful
#3 Herbal formulas according to the individual can be supportive to healing
#4 Nutrition according to energy constitutional makeup(see foodsheal.com)
#5 Guided yoga asana practice to involve the marma points is generally good Exercise and pranayama are good to add to this asana regiment(deep breathing releases endorphins)
Autoimmune FM
In probably 20% of cases of FM there is an autoimmune component These cases are harder to treat but the treatment protocol is basically the same but the herbal protocol will vary
All the best in your healing journey Dr Bill
