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Fibromyalgia & Physical Therapy

    Fibromyalgia is a disorder characterized by widespread musculoskeletal pain accompanied by fatigue, sleep, memory and mood issues. Researchers believe that fibromyalgia amplifies painful sensations by affecting the way your brain and spinal cord process painful and nonpainful signals.

    Physical therapists can show people with fibromyalgia how to relieve symptoms of pain and stiffness in everyday life. These health care professionals teach people with fibromyalgia how to build strength and improve their range of motion


How Can a Physical Therapist Help Fibromyalgia?


    Physical therapists work with all types of patients -- from infants to adults. They provide health services that help restore function, improve mobility, relieve pain, and prevent or limit permanent physical disabilities. Working one-on-one with people, physical therapists help restore overall fitness and health.



How Can Physical Therapy Help Relieve Fibromyalgia Pain?


    physical therapy may help ease the symptoms of pain. It can also help reduce stiffness and fatigue. In addition to exercise, physical therapists use a wide range of resources -- from deep tissue massage to ice and heat packs for hydrotherapy.

    The benefit of physical therapy is that it allows a person with fibromyalgia to work closely with a trained professional who can design a fibromyalgia-specific treatment program. The therapist documents your progress and gauges whether you're practicing good therapy habits, alignments, and movement patterns when doing "homework" or exercises at home.


What Other Tools Does a Physical Therapist Use for Fibromyalgia?


The physical therapist may use different types of tools with fibromyalgia patients including:


  • deep tissue massage

  • low-impact aerobic conditioning (water aerobics)

  • pain relief exercise

  • stretching and strengthening exercises

  • TENS units (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation)



Fibromyalgia tends to run in families, and some scientists believe that certain genes could make you more likely to develop it. However, the disorder also occurs in people with no family history of the disorder.


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