Symptoms may also sometimes begin after a physical trauma such as surgery or infection.
Chronic, widespread muscle pain is often characterized as a constant dull ache that lasts for an extended period of time on both sides of your body, and above and below your waist. Muscle pain may also lead to tingling in the limbs, stiffness, or soreness in muscles that have been at rest. For example, you may feel unable to walk or bend after sitting for a long time.
Even patients who get a full night’s sleep may experience fatigue with fibromyalgia.
Trouble sleeping or fatigue coupled with chronic pain is an indicator of fibromyalgia. If you experience fatigue or trouble sleeping but do not have muscular pain, you are likely dealing with a different condition.
These sensitivities can often lead to severe headaches. Migraines are a common problem for patients with fibromyalgia.
Some patients with fibromyalgia may develop or be diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
Your doctor may want to do a blood test, as well as nerve tests.
You can talk to your general practitioner about your symptoms, or you can visit an internist or a rheumatologist.
There are several conditions that have similar symptoms to fibromyalgia, but you shouldn’t be worried about a long list of possible causes. Talk to your doctor about which of these conditions match your specific symptoms. The doctor will then determine if one of those conditions is causing your symptoms, or if you may have fibromyalgia.
For a diagnosis to be made, you need to have experienced pain in a quadrant for a minimum of 3 months. Your doctor may also test for tenderness in the neck, between your shoulder blades, on your elbows, upper hips, inner knees, and the back of your head. These are all areas commonly associated with fibromyalgia.
If you find that over-the-counter drugs aren’t helping, let your doctor know. They may be able to provide you with prescriptions medications commonly used to treat fibromyalgia including painkillers.
Likewise, an occupational therapist can help you make adjustments to your workplace layout and routine that may help make your symptoms more manageable throughout the day.
Try to give your body a day to rest in between every strength training workout. Shorten the range of motion if you feel it is to painful or strenuous to complete a full exercise. You can even talk to a physical therapist about the right exercise form for you to help accommodate your fibromyalgia. You may want to try activities like water aerobics, yoga, and Pilates, which can help you build strength with a lower impact to your body. Remember that the point of strength training with fibromyalgia isn’t to grow your muscles or the amount of weight you can lift. It’s to help keep pain away. Always start with smaller amounts of weight and progress gradually.
