4 Tips to Relieve Fibromyalgia Upper Back Pain
For many sufferers Fibromyalgia upper back pain is one of the worst and most disruptive symptoms which means that relieving the ache can mean relieving a lot of suffering.
Suffering with back pain can make sitting in any one position difficult and it can also impact on the quality of sleep leaving you feeling tired and drained the next day, still with a sore back! To understand why fibromyalgia sufferers have such a bad time with chronic back pain it helps to understand how the back works so you can choose treatments that will be the most effective, A mesh of muscles support and align your spine, this allows your body to move, bend, stay upright and do all the things it does.
These muscles are central to our ability to balance.
They also crossover with other nearby muscles that have connections to pain processing receptors in the brain.
As fibromyalgia is characterized by overactive pain processors, your brain can be tricked into thinking you are experiencing pain.
This can be the cause behind the chronic pain.
Also the longer you have suffered with fibromyalgia and it's debilitating symptoms the weaker the muscles tend to be.
Weakened spine muscles can stop the back from being properly aligned, leading again to chronic pain.
While Fibromyalgia remains to be somewhat of a mystery even to the best of medical practitioners, there are some steps you can take to ease back pain.
There is the option of consulting your doctor for advice and prescriptions of medication for symptomatic relief.
Your doctor may prescribe some painkillers and anti-depressants to help alleviate pain and aid muscle relaxation.
However, as these just address the symptoms rather than the cause they tend to not be effective over the longer term.
You can combine these medications with other treatments to fast track and enhance your pain relief.
Heat Applications A warm bath at night before bed can help to ease back pain and relax muscles giving you the opportunity for a better nights sleep, allowing your body healing time.
Or if you wake up aching start your day with a warm relaxing soak in the tub to soothe your muscles.
Just like an anti-depressant, a warm bath will loosen you muscles and promote over all relaxation that can also ease the mind.
Heat wraps are another option that comes in all different shapes and sizes to fit various parts of your body.
You can heat them in the microwave or in warm water and then strap it onto your back for warming relief.
Support Think about your seating arrangements and your bed.
Are they offering your back the correct level of support? If you spend long days at work sitting ask your company if they will provide you with an adjustable chair that you can adjust for better back posture - even better if they will provide an ergonomically designed on.
At home try lumber supports and if your bed is old and has lost its springiness than maybe you should think about investing in a new one.
Exercise Don't forget to incorporate mild exercise into your daily routine.
This practice will help not only with upper back pain but with overall health and well being as well.
There are specific back exercises that target the muscles in the back to help strengthen them.
To ensure you are getting the exercises right consult a trained professional before attempting to do at home.
Physical therapy has proven to be helpful in easing pain for people with chronic back pain.
Alternative options Acupuncture is an option that you could consider.
Although, there are no statistics to rely on, anecdotally, some fibromyalgia sufferers have experienced significant reduction in pain from having acupuncture sessions.
Similar to this is also acupressure, with uses pressure rather than needles to stimulate certain points on the body.
Visiting a chiropractor can also bring improvements.
For more natural ways to treat all the fibromyalgia symptoms sign up for the newsletter below.
While your first instinct is to resign yourself to the upper back pain, don't.
You need to regain your life back and learn to cope with the pain.
Try taking positive steps to alleviate the pain, stick with the methods that work and stop the ones that don't.
Speak to your doctor if you're finding fibromyalgia back pain overwhelming as they will be able to suggest other coping techniques.
Suffering with back pain can make sitting in any one position difficult and it can also impact on the quality of sleep leaving you feeling tired and drained the next day, still with a sore back! To understand why fibromyalgia sufferers have such a bad time with chronic back pain it helps to understand how the back works so you can choose treatments that will be the most effective, A mesh of muscles support and align your spine, this allows your body to move, bend, stay upright and do all the things it does.
These muscles are central to our ability to balance.
They also crossover with other nearby muscles that have connections to pain processing receptors in the brain.
As fibromyalgia is characterized by overactive pain processors, your brain can be tricked into thinking you are experiencing pain.
This can be the cause behind the chronic pain.
Also the longer you have suffered with fibromyalgia and it's debilitating symptoms the weaker the muscles tend to be.
Weakened spine muscles can stop the back from being properly aligned, leading again to chronic pain.
While Fibromyalgia remains to be somewhat of a mystery even to the best of medical practitioners, there are some steps you can take to ease back pain.
There is the option of consulting your doctor for advice and prescriptions of medication for symptomatic relief.
Your doctor may prescribe some painkillers and anti-depressants to help alleviate pain and aid muscle relaxation.
However, as these just address the symptoms rather than the cause they tend to not be effective over the longer term.
You can combine these medications with other treatments to fast track and enhance your pain relief.
Heat Applications A warm bath at night before bed can help to ease back pain and relax muscles giving you the opportunity for a better nights sleep, allowing your body healing time.
Or if you wake up aching start your day with a warm relaxing soak in the tub to soothe your muscles.
Just like an anti-depressant, a warm bath will loosen you muscles and promote over all relaxation that can also ease the mind.
Heat wraps are another option that comes in all different shapes and sizes to fit various parts of your body.
You can heat them in the microwave or in warm water and then strap it onto your back for warming relief.
Support Think about your seating arrangements and your bed.
Are they offering your back the correct level of support? If you spend long days at work sitting ask your company if they will provide you with an adjustable chair that you can adjust for better back posture - even better if they will provide an ergonomically designed on.
At home try lumber supports and if your bed is old and has lost its springiness than maybe you should think about investing in a new one.
Exercise Don't forget to incorporate mild exercise into your daily routine.
This practice will help not only with upper back pain but with overall health and well being as well.
There are specific back exercises that target the muscles in the back to help strengthen them.
To ensure you are getting the exercises right consult a trained professional before attempting to do at home.
Physical therapy has proven to be helpful in easing pain for people with chronic back pain.
Alternative options Acupuncture is an option that you could consider.
Although, there are no statistics to rely on, anecdotally, some fibromyalgia sufferers have experienced significant reduction in pain from having acupuncture sessions.
Similar to this is also acupressure, with uses pressure rather than needles to stimulate certain points on the body.
Visiting a chiropractor can also bring improvements.
For more natural ways to treat all the fibromyalgia symptoms sign up for the newsletter below.
While your first instinct is to resign yourself to the upper back pain, don't.
You need to regain your life back and learn to cope with the pain.
Try taking positive steps to alleviate the pain, stick with the methods that work and stop the ones that don't.
Speak to your doctor if you're finding fibromyalgia back pain overwhelming as they will be able to suggest other coping techniques.
