Fibromyalgia is a fairly common pain syndrome, affecting between 2-4% of people in America.  It causes generalized body pain and fatigue, as well as other symptoms such as headaches, brain fog, sleep and digestive issues, and anxiety or depression.

Fibromyalgia is still not completely understood, but there may be certain predisposing factors:

• Genetics: There are certain genes that appear to be involved, so it is possible that this may be inherited.
• Infections: It is also believed that a severe infection (like Covid 19, or other viruses) could possibly trigger off Fibromyalgia.
• Stress: A history of chronic stress or trauma is relatively common in Fibro sufferers.
• Gender: Fibromyalgia is also two times more prevalent in women.

Personally, I feel that if we can understand how a problem occurs, then we can start to develop a plan to treat it. Currently, the most used theory to explain Fibro. is a heightened sensitization of the central nervous system to pain. Scientists believe that somehow the brain becomes more sensitive to pain signals from the body. It is thought that an imbalance of neurotransmitters in the brain is responsible, this is why antidepressants are often used to treat Fibro.I prefer an alternative theory, that Fibro. is a dysregulation of the nervous system (probably due to chronic stress) that results in neuropathic pain in the body. An example of the dysregulation I am talking about (dysautonomia) would be an imbalance between the Vagus nerve (that calms the nervous system down) and the fight-or-flight system (that rev’s it up). For me this theory is better at explaining why people with fibro. Also experience tiredness, digestive and sleep issues, as well as headaches.