In recent years the importance of health has increased throughout the United States. Physical activity has shown to reduce the risk of developing chronic diseases, as well as used as a treatment for a variety of diseases, disorders, and syndromes. Fibromyalgia is a common disorder in roughly five million Americans. Of the five million people who are affected by this disorder about 80-90% of them are women, although it is possible for men and children to develop fibromyalgia as well (National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Disease). Physical activity has been shown to significantly decrease the pain experience from fibromyalgia. To be able to further discuss the relationship between this disorder and physical activity, fibromyalgia must first be defined, followed by discussing the risk factors and symptoms that people experience along with how physical activity should be the first line of defense for those who suffer from it.
This disorder is one that I have been around and seen how it affects those who have been diagnosed as well as their families. My aunt has been diagnosed with fibromyalgia for the past seven years now, but suffered from it many years prior. She suffered from chronic pain for a while, trying to self medicate with things such as ibuprofen, before she finally began to see a doctor to find out what was causing the severe pain that she was experiencing. Before she began seeing a doctor is took a toll on my family as a whole. On a regular basis we would have to help her with normal every day activities that she could no longer do on her own. Once she began to see a doctor she also began regular physical activity with a trainer, which the doctor had suggested. I was thoroughly surprised that s...
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...on. It was found that low intensity aerobic exercising in those suffering from PTSD proves to be effective in preventing fibromyalgia.
The next Mill’s Canon that will be discussed is strength of association. This means that there is a large meaningful difference in the disease risk between those who have been exposed and those that are not exposed to the risk factors. In this area we are trying to measure the effects that physical activity has on fibromyalgia. Studies that used subjects who currently suffered from the disorder were used to compare the effects of physical activity on the pain levels in patients.
In a study done by Newcomb et al. 2011, twenty-one women with fibromyalgia were randomly placed into exercise groups where they would complete twenty minutes cycling on a stationary bicycle at a self-selected intensity and at one that prescribed to them.
Fibromyalgia seems to affect mostly women, although men and children can also get it. It is estimated by the that about three to six percent of the U.S. population has fibromyalgia.(Source 4) Yet another source states that it is three to six million people in the U.S. or as many as one in fifty Americans. (Source 1) All of these sources agree that women make up to eighty or ninety percent of fibromyalgic patients.
Although there is no known cure for this condition despite the advent of science and technology, the good thing is that there are numerous options to offer relief for fibromyalgia patients. You must have heard about being dependent to certain types of medicines or those people who no longer respond to low dose analgesia. In this case, most patients look for natural remedies to avoid complications later on. Even top-notch medical specialists believe that the treatment and management for fibromyalgia should be a balanced and holistic approach that comes with complementary medicine, appropriate exercise and therapy.
Imagine waking up every morning stiff, all your muscles in your body soar, extremely tired and on the verge of exhaustion. The simple task of taking a shower and getting dressed makes you need to lay down for just a few minutes and rest. Your legs ache from a short walk up the stairs last night on your way to bed, as if you ran a marathon in your sleep, and your skin literally hurts to the touch of your clothes as they rub against you. Your blood pressure is up and you can feel the pain emanating from every part of your body. You can’t, for the life of you, find your keys as they hang from the keychain in your hand, because the pain and agitation you are feeling all over has clouded your mind. You are finding it difficult to even concentrate. Never mind the rest of the day ahead of you, that has not even started yet. Now imagine this every day, all day. It almost seems impossible to fathom something of this nature on a daily basis, but that is exactly what most people with fibromyalgia describe as a daily feeling. Some are much worse than that. Fibromyalgia is real, it is pain, and it does exist. Although fibromyalgia awareness has progressed thru advertising there is much more that can, and needs to be done to bring this to the forefront of the medical field and other organizations as a real diagnosis. More research and Government funding is direly needed and demands significant action from our National health agencies and United States Government in the form of grants, research, trials and various drug interaction and testing.
...aining and which will not. The research on muscle activating pattern should be helpful in determining why strength training helps some patients and not others. Researchers should also include more participants for these studies.
...the study the participants had to be female and obtain permission from a doctor to clear them for physical activity. The setting was semi-naturalistic. Participants were randomly assigned to the control or the experimental group. Measurements were taken for BMI and blood pressure, as well as a blood sample to determine the participant’s baseline. They were also assessed for activity tolerance, agility and flexibility. The participants in the experimental group underwent 16 weeks of exercise training that consisted of walking, stretching and balance exercises. The classes were held three-times per week, for a duration of about 60-70 minutes. The results showed that there was a significant decrease in all variables measured in the experimental group. Triglycerides, total cholesterol, HDL, LDL and VLDL cholesterols as well as BMI and blood pressure had all decreased.
Pain is often overlooked and disregarded as an unimportant health issue by health care providers. However, according to the National Institutes of Health, pain affects more Americans than diabetes, heart disease, and cancer combined. It is the most common reason people seek health care, the leading cause of disability, and a major contributor to health care cost (National Institutes of Health [NIH], 2013). By managing pain, patient outcomes improve and health cost decreases because the patient is more likely to participate in activities such as mobilization and deep-breathing exercises, leading to fewer complications and earlier discharge. Organizations such as the American Society for Pain Management Nursing, the American Pain Society, and
Everything started off as expected and I felt as though I had finally found my true calling in life. Then it happened. My doctor’s appointment was scheduled the first week of class, and I was anxious to finally get the much anticipated answers to the source or cause of my pain. But the news I received left me dumbfounded. My body went numb, comparable to being thrown into a sea of ice where I had no time to react. Frozen in time, the doctor’s words drifting in mid-air, my mind would not accept these words so instead I was left watching them as if they were solid masses in front of my eyes. Fibromyalgia—a disease that doctors are still studying and many know little about. How could this happen? How did I get this disease? All these questions raced through my mind. When the doctor had no reply, the questions derailed from their thoughtful track and c...
Arthritis affects people of all age groups. More than 100 types of arthritis are known. Among these osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis having the highest incidence. One of the major causes of chronic debilitation in industrialized nations is Osteoarthritis which results from damage to the joints, which may be due to trauma, infection, or age-related wear. Rheumatoid arthritis is encountered less frequently than osteoarthritis and is estimated to affect around one per cent of the world’s population. Amongst patients of Rheumatoid arthritis, women are three times more likely to be affected by this condition than men. This condition is caused by an inflammatory process where the body starts attacking itself. Rheumatoid arthritis also affects several joints, with inflammation sometimes seen in and around the lungs, the heart, the eyes and the skin. The most commonly reported complaint by arthritis patients is pain. The pain might be from the joint itself and be a result of inflammation, damage from the disease, or through daily wear and tear. Muscle pain is also common and is caused by having to force movements against stiff and painful joints. Although range of movement in the affected joint may be limited and uncomfortable, physical exercise has been shown to benefit those with arthritis. Physical therapy has been shown to significantly improve function, decrease pain in the long term and delay the need for surgery in advanced cases. The majority of arthritis cases occur among theelderly, however the disease can occur in children as well. Over 70% of the population that get affected by arthritis in North America are over the age of 65 (4). The disease occurs more commonly in females than males in all races, age groups, and ethn...
Fibromyalgia is one of the most expensive chronic diseases in terms of healthcare utilization costs in part due to the severity of the functional limitations experienced by fibromyalgia patients. The clinical symptoms of fibromyalgia are complex and are accompanied by sleep disturbances, mood disorders, chronic fatigue, reduced exercise tolerance and pain exacerbations which severely limit a patient’s activities of daily living (Friedberg et al., 2012). As a result, fibromyalgia patients often adopt sedentary behaviors that reinforce preexisting physical disabilities and ultimately lead...
Opening my eyes to this concept has completely turned my treatment techniques upside down! I mean this quite literally. I find I usually get my best results by treating the opposite end of the body from the symptoms. To say this approach is “unorthodox” in the world of physical therapy is an understatement. I am hopeful the observations, ideas, and concepts I present in this text will help us approach rehab more holistically through the conventional vehicle of exercise, but with a new intention.
The development of Fibromyalgia and depression in one’s life is dependent on many factors. Firstly, depression can result from issues such as reacting to loss, struggles of life or personal issues related to self-esteem. Fibromyalgia can also result from similar issues as well. However, statistics show that this disorder is common in women than in men (Schmidt et al, 2010). This disorder has been linked to
Some hypothesize that moderate levels of exercise will decrease the symptoms of mental health conditions (Blumenthal et al., 2007; Diaz & Motta, 2008; Motta, Kuligowski, & Marino, 2010; Rosenbaum, Nguyen, Lenehan, Tiedemann, van der Ploeg, & Sherrington, 2011) and therefore be used as an alternative or complimentary treatment option for mental health (Libby, Pilver, & Desai, 2012).
Tarakci, E., Yeldan, I., Huseyinsinoglu, B. E., Zenginler, Y., & Eraksoy, M. (2013). Group exercise training for balance, functional status, spasticity, fatigue and quality of life in multiple sclerosis: a randomized controlled trial. Clinical Rehabilitation, 27(9), 813-823.
... dr. Ostelo R., Koes B., van Tulder M. (2010) Exercise Therapy for Chronic Nonspecific Low-Back Pain. Best Practice & Research Clinical Rheumatology vol. 24 pp: 193–204.
Salmon, P. (2001). Effects of physical exercise on anxiety, depression, and sensitivity to stress: A unifying theory.Clinical Psychology Review, 21(1), 33–61. Retrieved October 20, 2013, from http://www.sciencedirect.com.library.esc.edu