Are you chronically tired, have difficulty focusing, and feel like your entire body is always in pain? Fibromyalgia is a chronic pain condition that affects your energy level and concentration. Dr. C. Weston Whitten offers the most advanced treatment options for fibromyalgia at the Nebraska Pain Institute in Lincoln, Nebraska. If you need relief from your symptoms to improve your quality of life, call the office today or book an appointment online.
Fibromyalgia is a neurological condition that makes you sensitive to touch and causes you to feel pain all over your entire body. It’s been theorized that fibromyalgia affects how the brain processes your pain, and magnifies the sensation.
Fibromyalgia is more common in women than men, and many people with the disorder also have tension headaches, irritable bowel syndrome, restless leg syndrome, depression, anxiety, or temporomandibular joint disorder.
Common symptoms of fibromyalgia include:
If you’ve been experiencing these symptoms for more than three months, Dr. Whitten may be able to help, even if you haven’t yet been diagnosed with fibromyalgia.
Doctors are still researching the exact cause of fibromyalgia, but experts theorize that certain factors may trigger the disorder, including:
These factors may disrupt how your spinal cord sends pain signals to your brain, turning up the pain sensation in the brain.
Dr. Whitten uses a combination of medication and self care to help you manage your fibromyalgia symptoms.
Medications he may recommend include:
Narcotic Medications are associated with worsening of fibromyalgia pain and therefore are not indicated. Dr. Whitten has a large repertoire of medications and interventions to help treat fibromyalgia.
While medications are effective at helping reduce the pain caused by fibromyalgia, Dr. Whitten also recommends regular exercise to help manage your symptoms. He often recommends walking, yoga, tai chi, swimming, or even low-impact aerobics, depending on your individual situation.
There are many additional lifestyle changes you can make to help manage your fibromyalgia symptoms. You can:
Dr. Whitten may also suggest alternative treatments to help you manage pain, such as massage therapy or acupuncture.
For help with fibromyalgia, call the office or book an appointment online.
