|
The Latest Treatments for Fibromyalgia Look
Promising for Sufferers
Fibromyalgia is being studied constantly. Its effects are felt
by approximately 5 million Americans, yet there is no cure and
very few effective long-term treatments. Until recently, it
wasn't even recognized as a real condition. The advances being
made in the field of fibromyalgia research and treatment are
great, but they are certainly not moving as fast as most
sufferers would like them to.
Treatments for fibromyalgia and its symptoms are being
researched and developed every day. Some of the latest
treatments for fibromyalgia that have been studied and
publicized include antidepressants, muscle relaxants, sleep
therapy, acupuncture, and massage.
Some Exciting New Developments
Antidepressants may be an effective treatment even if the
patient does not suffer from depression in addition to
fibromyalgia. Somehow, the antidepressants affect the pain
receptors in the brain and act to reduce the amount of pain
felt by the patient. This is one of the most exciting in the
latest treatments for fibromyalgia, because antidepressants are
widely available and have already been studied extensively.
Muscle relaxants are another one of the latest treatments for
fibromyalgia that have been in the public eye lately. The doses
of muscle relaxants for fibromyalgia are nowhere near as large
as the doses given usually with these medications, but the
effect has been very promising. Muscle relaxants may prove to
be a very useful tool for treating fibromyalgia in the
future.
Some of the other latest treatments for fibromyalgia include
acupuncture, massage, and sleep therapy. Sleep therapy is an
interesting treatment because it suggests that there is a link
between inadequate sleep and the pain felt by fibromyalgia
sufferers. Since the body uses sleep as a time to heal and
repair itself, this may suggest that fibromyalgia sufferers can
experience a relief of their symptoms with improved quality of
sleep.
A treatment similar to sleep that has been mentioned by
researchers lately is meditation. Since there seems to be a
link between fibromyalgia and stress, meditation can help to
relieve some of that stress and therefore reduce the pain felt
by the fibromyalgia patient. Relaxation can also help to
improve the quality of sleep and provide more time for the
patient's body to heal.
There are many other treatments being researched every day. The
latest treatments for fibromyalgia are often discussed in
medical conferences, and you can bet that at any given time,
there are research studies being carried out around the country
that will attempt to shed some light on this elusive and
complicated condition.
|