Fibrositis and fibromyalgia
What it is
Fibrositis is a non-medical term that means different
things to different people. It literally means “inflammation
of fibrous tissue” and many doctors use it to describe minor
aches and pains in muscles and joints for which they can find no obvious
cause. Others use the term fibrositis to mean fibromyalgia (literally
pain in muscle fibres) and the two terms are used interchangeably
in some medical textbooks.
Fibromyalgia is a debilitating condition with widespread aches and pains plus sleep disturbance. Women are five times more likely to suffer than men. The pains tend to move from place to place, vary in severity and are often made worse by cold and stress. Sufferers develop localised areas of tenderness known as trigger points, especially around the lower spine, between the shoulder blades, at the base of the neck, over the sacro-iliac joints, elbows and knees. In some people, these tender spots develop fibrous nodules. Fibromyalgia seems to be due to reduced energy production in muscle cells and an inability of muscle fibres to relax. Sufferers do have a characteristic lack of delta wave (deep non-REM sleep) when brain waves are monitored during sleep, however.
They therefore feel tired and exhausted much of the time as they wake unrefreshed. Interestingly, if normal volunteers are monitored during sleep and woken periodically so that they lack delta wave sleep, similar aches and pains will appear.
Self help measures:
St John’s Wort will help where mild to moderate depression is
present (check with a pharmacist if you are taking prescribed medication
as interactions are possible eg with the oral contraceptive pill).
Supplements containing magnesium, B group vitamins, manganese and/or co-enzyme Q10 may help.
Relaxation techniques such as yoga, T’ai Chi and breathing exercises are beneficial.
Relaxing herbs such as valerian can improve sleep.
Gentle muscle massage and the application of heat can improve pain.
Applying magnetic patches
Magnetic patches can also be applied to acupuncture points over or
near the site of pain, as shown in the following illustration. Select
the points which most closely relate to the site of discomfort.
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