Healthy Living

Natural Treatments for Fibromyalgia

Natural Treatments for Fibromyalgia

Almost everyone has felt pain some point in their life. It could be either emotional, physical, or a fusion of both, but no matter what, pain can disrupt a patient's daily routine. Fibromyalgia is a health condition that causes both emotional and physical pain, depending on the severity of the condition. In fact, “The chronic pain of fibromyalgia affects about 1 in 50 Americans. Because there is no cure for fibromyalgia and the cause is not understood, the quest to find the best fibromyalgia treatment is ongoing.” Not much is known about fibromyalgia and how it is caused. However, because symptoms of this disease have been present for centuries, some have found natural treatments that can be used to treat the pain temporarily.

However, it's important to know that there isn't much research done on these treatments. The only way to know if they work is trying them, and what may work for others, may not work for some. It can also be helpful to talk to a general physician to see what is the best route to take when relieving fibromyalgia's painful symptoms. Essentially, natural fibromyalgia treatments are tested on a trial and error basis, based on the information provided by the patients undergoing the treatment. 

The following are just a few of the natural treatments that may be useful in relieving fibromyalgia's most bothersome of symptoms.

Vitamin D as fibromyalgia treatment

Fibromyalgia is a condition that occurs under mysterious circumstances. Many medical professionals believe that fibromyalgia is a genetic disorder, but this claim doesn't have a lot of research behind it. Others also believe that fibromyalgia is formed after a strange chemical imbalance in the body is present. For instance, “both vitamin D and magnesium levels have been found to be low in people with fibromyalgia, but as of yet there is no evidence that taking vitamin supplements are an effective fibromyalgia treatment.”

Vitamin D is a well-known supplement that even people without fibromyalgia use. Vitamin D is commonly used to generate calcium in the skeletal system, yet it has several other uses. In fact, “vitamin D, known as the sunshine vitamin, does have some effects on nerve and muscle function, and some studies have suggested that low levels of vitamin D may be associated with chronic pain of fibromyalgia.” Although vitamin D does not cure fibromyalgia, it very well may help with the intense pain associated with the health condition.

No conclusive information has been drawn, but “in a small clinical study published online in the January 2012 issue of Pain Medicine, fibromyalgia symptoms improved in 30 women after 8 weeks of vitamin D supplementation. However, other researchers have failed to find any association between fibromyalgia and vitamin D levels.” Currently, there is still research being conducted about whether or not vitamin D can potentially be linked to fibromyalgia. Still, for some fibromyalgia patients, the natural vitamin d treatment does seem to ease the pain.