Fibromyalgia and Mindfulness Working Title
Rachel L. Hughes
Saint Louis University
Abstract
[The abstract should be one paragraph of between 150 and 250 words. It is not indented. Section titles, such as the word Abstract above, are not considered headings so they don’t use bold heading format. Instead, use the Section Title style. This style automatically starts your section on a new page, so you don’t have to add page breaks. Note that all of the styles for this template are available on the Home tab of the ribbon, in the Styles gallery.]
Fibromyalgia and Mindfulness Working Title
Fibromyalgia is a chronic pain disorder that affects between .5% and 5% of the United States population (Arnold, Clauw, Dunegan, & Turk, 2012); however,
…show more content…
This paper will explore the biopsychosocial components of fibromyalgia for patients and the current research surrounding the use of mindfulness as a treatment for the disorder.
The Disorder
Fibromyalgia is a persistent pain disorder that affects multiple parts of a person’s body that typically occurs between ages thirty and fifty years old (Glennon, 2010). The disorder is seven times more common in females than males and may occur in as much as 8% of the women within their lifetimes (Arnold et al., 2008). While general knowledge on fibromyalgia has increased since the American College of Rheumatology’s first report in 1990 (Clauw et al., 2011), the etiology and exact psychophysiological process creating the disorder is still yet to be determined (Ryan, 2013).
Fibromyalgia Pain Chronic and widespread pain is understandably the most distressing symptom of fibroyalgia and predominantly why patients seek medical help in the first place. Fibromyalgia is a pain disorder of the central nervous system that distorts not only the person’s perception of intensity of pain but also the person’s perception of what causes pain in the first place because of malfunctioning nociceptors (Clauw et al., 2011). Average pain is processed by nociceptors via two sets of neural pathways. The ascending neural pathway is activated by painful stimuli like extreme temperature, pressure, and impact. The ascending pathway sends nociceptive signals to send neurotransmitters
Fibromyalgia has been described as a full-body migraine. Another common explanation is to compare everyday life with FMS as being similar to the aches and pains associated with a severe
“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 processes pain signals (Mayoclinic Staff, 2015).” There are several theories as to why this pain continues to exist post treatment. Researchers have postulated that this disease process amplifies painful sensations in your brain, others retain that it acts like an arthritic condition as it degrades the joint capsule and most soft tissue within. These patients can display a wide variety of symptoms ranging from sleep problems and fatigue, to pain and muscle spasms and or muscle
Throughout history there has always been a debate on whether or not fibromyalgia is a valid health concern. Finally with today’s technology and medical research it can finally be diagnosed.Even though doctors are unable to pinpoint the root cause of these symptoms, we now know it is a valid and widespread medical condition. Fibromyalgia used to be called “muscular rheumatism.” Which is a neurobiological disorder that affects many in their daily lives. The main description of this diagnosis is chronic widespread pain, that can also disturb one's psychological state of mind. Fibromyalgia was not
Fibromyalgia is a mysterious ailment that influences all facets of its sufferer’s life. It hasn’t been that long ago when those receiving a diagnosis of Fibromyalgia were ridiculed, and the doctors doing the diagnosing were criticized. There was a perception that Fibromyalgia was a ‘waste basket’ diagnosis; given when no other explanation could be provided. It is for those, who remain attached to this perception, to which I write. Do you believe Fibromyalgia is over diagnosed? Do you believe people with this condition exaggerate their pain? Do you think their symptoms/pain is all in their head? Are these people simply hypochondriacs? Do you wonder if their pain is an excuse to obtain prescription
Fibromyalgia is ".... the most common musculoskeletal condition after osteoarthritis. Still, it is often misdiagnosed and misunderstood. Its characteristics include widespread muscle and joint pain and fatigue, as well as other symptoms." "(WebMD.com)" Fibromyalgia is a horrific condition which "affects relationships, parenting duties, and life decisions of people afflicted with the chronic pain disorder. Fibromyalgia is characterized by widespread muscle tenderness and pain, fatigue, and sleep problems. The cause is unclear, but abnormalities in the way the body responds to and processes pain may play a role." "(WebMD.com)". Also "Fibromyalgia (fi-bro-my-AL-ja) syndrome (FMS) produces chronic body-wide pain, which migrates and can be felt from head to toe. Other symptoms include persistent fatigue, headaches, cognitive or memory impairment, morning stiffness and non-restorative sleep. The pain can migrate from day to day. Recent scientific research studies have shown central nervous system involvement in FMS." "(NFRA - What is fibromyalgia?)". Now you may be thinking "Why should I donate to a charity when it seems like such a horrible thing would be very rare?" While lemme tell ya something according to a study "Scientists estimate that fibromyalgia affects 5 million Americans 18 or older. Between 80 and 90 percent of people diagnosed with
It’s a life of severe chronic fatigue, pain, depression, and anxiety. Unheard of as recently as twenty years ago, fibromyalgia is now the most common diagnosis made by rheumatologists in America, affecting around 10 million people.
fibromyalgia pain can vary in intensity, suffers often describes it as a deep persistent ache or a stabbing or shooting muscular pain. Other common symptoms include incapacitating fatigue, insomnia, joint pain, leg cramps, headaches, concentration and memory problems known as fibro fog, because there is no lab test or x ray to confirm a diagnosis of fibromyalgia. Some patients
Fibromyalgia is a painful, chronic disorder that affects every day life of patients. This debilitating disorder is widely misunderstood and misdiagnosed. The two combining forms in fibromyalgia are “fibro”, which means fiber, and “my/o”, which means muscle (Olson, 2015). The suffix “-algia” translates to pain. When put together, fibromyalgia is defined as pain of muscles and connective tissue structures (Merriam-Webster). This chronic condition causes pain at specific points throughout the whole body, making the pain widespread.
Throughout the years of this age old disease there have been many myths about fibromyalgia such as “it’s a rare disease” and the truth is, it is not a rare disease, in fact it is quite common and is estimated that there are several million people in the United States alone that suffer from its effects. Some say “it is all in a person’s head”, that too is a myth. Studies have proven the pain is real thru imaging of the brain and control test show that a person with fibromyalgia feels pain more intensely than those without fibromyalgia. There are those that also claim that fibromyalgia is a “woman’s” disease, although about 80% of those who suffer are women it is not limited to women only, there are men and even children who have been diagnosed with fibromyalgia and is not restricted to any ethnic group.
Fibromyalgia is a chronic disorder that is characterized by a set of symptoms. These symptoms include muscle pain, joint pain, and fatigue. It can also lead to depression. Fibromyalgia has been compared to other disorders such as bursitis and tendinitis. The similarities in signs and symptoms make it a little difficult to diagnose. Women are most likely to be diagnosed with Fibromyalgia. It is still unknown as to why Fibromyalgia is more common in women. However, men and children are still susceptible to the disorder. The cause for Fibromyalgia is relatively unknown. However, there are indicators that my lead medical professionals to believe that certain factors can lead to Fibromyalgia. Researchers are currently undergoing tests to determine whether or not a person is predisposed with a gene that may cause Fibromyalgia. Diagnosing Fibromyalgia in patients is based strictly on the amount of pain felt by the patient. Treatment of Fibromyalgia can be difficult due to the small number of doctors who have knowledge of the condition. It is important to seek medical help from providers who have extensive knowledge of Fibromyalgia such as rheumatologist.
While some patients opt for surgery in order to relieve the painful symptoms of fibromyalgia, many utilize the alternative methods mentioned above. Fibromyalgia syndrome impairs the quality of life of two to four percent of the population and affects predominantly females with 9:1 female to male ratio (citation needed Whit et al. 2015). Therefore, some researchers suggest that fibromyalgia might be associated with serum testosterone levels. Patients with fibromyalgia syndrome have increased sensitization of the central nervous system and the occurrence of fibromyalgia symptoms can be detected by using functional magnetic resonance imaging to measure pain associated brain activities. White et al. 2015 presented a clinical study designed to determine if testosterone had a protective effect on patients against chronic pain associated with fibromyalgia. They used pre-clinical human brain imaging data to support a causal linkage between androgens and RVM (rostral ventromedial medulla) activity in the female brainstem. When the serum
Fibromyalgia was initially thought to be a musculoskeletal syndrome since maximum of the pain was felt in the muscles and other soft tissue. However, recent studies and research have shown that fibromyalgia is a central nervous system ailment which causes uncharacteristic pain processing and leads in pain amplification. The three chief symptoms that are common to virtually everybody who struggles with fibromyalgia are pain, tiredness and sleep disorders.
Chronic pain is estimated to affect approximately 18% of adult Australians.6 Symptoms are frequently localised to a particular part of the body (eg vulvodynia, irritable bowel syndrome or chronic low back pain) but can be generalised (eg fibromyalgia). Whatever the location or distribution of pain, it is now thought there is a common central pathology, which helps explain frequently observed comorbid symptoms of multifocal pain, fatigue, sleep disturbance and mood changes.7 There is increased incidence of co-existent pain disorders and women with vulvodynia have a 2–3-fold increase in the likelihood of having another pain condition.8 It is not understood why some individuals develop chronic pain and others do not. It seems that some individuals experience
Over the last four decades, chronic pain has been found to be related with countless
A study by Lima, Dias, and Mazuquin separated one thousand two hundred and sixty-five participants with fibromyalgia into two groups. One group had aquatic therapy, but no land-based physical therapy, which was split into four to eight weeks, nine to twenty weeks, and more than twenty weeks of aquatic therapy. The second group had aquatic physical therapy and land-based exercises for three to twenty-three weeks. The results of this study researched demonstrated that having aquatic therapy helped individuals with fibromyalgia overall, but the best result was when participants had aquatic therapy with no land based exercises for more than twenty weeks. There was actually a reverse effect of aquatic therapy when participants did both land and aquatic exercises.4 The author’s conclusions were that aquatic therapy does help fibromyalgia