5 Natural Remedies for Fibromyalgia

Living with fibromyalgia can feel like a battle to ease pain and chronic fatigue. Finding a solution to treat fibromyalgia while staying healthy and active can also feel like a never ending challenge. In this article, we’ve compiled 5 natural remedies for fibromyalgia and the treatment of symptoms.

Symptoms of Fibromyalgia

Headaches
Depression
Anxiety
Fatigue
Chronic pain
Body stiffness
Difficulty with thinking or focusing
A “foggy” memory
Struggles with sleeping

If you went to the doctor with any one of these issues, your doctor would likely think it’s a valid issue and worthy of further examination.

Imagine having most of these issues…or all of these issues!

Adults with fibromyalgia don’t have it easy. Not only do symptoms of fibromyalgia manifest in any of the above list, there isn’t a universal test to diagnose all cases.

Fibromyalgia can’t be measured with numbers on a scale, unlike most other health conditions (blood pressure, diabetes, etc.). Looking for sensitive “tender points” in certain locations of the body is the most common diagnostic test, but that’s not comprehensive enough to identify all people who have the condition.

Unfortunately, this lack of a clear diagnostic test leads some people to question whether fibromyalgia is real. However, 4 million US adults and about 3-6% of the world’s population can attest to the existence of the disease.

Fibromyalgia has no known cause, which also makes it challenging to manage. A few proven methods do exist, though. Strength training is one of these methods.

Risk Factors for Fibromyalgia

Before getting into the methods for disease management, let’s look a little deeper at the disease. Risk factors for fibromyalgia include being female, having lupus or rheumatoid arthritis, suffering from a traumatic event (e.g. car accident), having a family history of fibromyalgia, and being obese.

It’s most commonly diagnosed during middle age. Fibromyalgia pain spots are the jaw, chest, neck, upper back, and hips.

Natural Remedies For Fibromyalgia

Pain relievers and antidepressants are the most common fibromyalgia treatments. They aren’t the only treatment options, though. There are natural remedies for fibromyalgia. These research-supported methods have shown some relief from fibromyalgia symptoms:

1. Vitamin D supplementation

A vitamin D supplement might ease fibromyalgia-related pain. In response to sun exposure, the human body creates vitamin D. Vitamin D can also be increased through the use of supplements or certain foods such as:

Fatty fish, such as salmon, mackerel, and tuna
Egg yolks
Cheese
Beef liver
Mushrooms
Fortified milk
Fortified cereals and juices

2. Massage therapy

Massage can help provide temporary relief from the muscle pain caused by fibromyalgia by relaxing tendons and muscles, increasing blood flow, and improving psychological comfort. While types of massage can range in style and purpose, massage benefits can include:

Reducing stress and increasing relaxation
Reducing pain and muscle soreness and tension
Improving circulation, energy and alertness
Lowering heart rate and blood pressure
Improving immune function

3. Acupuncture

Similar to massage, this could provide temporary pain relief. Acupuncture is a technique that involves inserting very fine needles into your skin at very specific locations on the body that potentially balance energy or impact neurological function. Acupuncture, derived from traditional Chinese medicine, is most typically used to relieve pain. This alternative medicine is increasingly being utilized for overall well-being, including stress reduction.

4. SAM-e

S-adenosylmethionine (SAM-e) is a naturally occurring compound produced and consumed by the liver that regulates hormones and maintains cell membranes. As a dietary supplement, it’s shown the ability to reduce pain and fatigue with those who have fibromyalgia. (For those with fibromyalgia, discuss this with your doctor to determine if and how much of SAM-e you should take as there are some side effects with excess amounts).

5. Strength Training

People with fibromyalgia might initially wonder whether they can safely exercise with their level of pain and discomfort, but research also points to strength training as an option for those with fibromyalgia. Three studies with over 100 women found that strength training 2-3 times per week offers some promising benefits:

Bonus Tip, 5 Extra Benefits Of Strength Training

Overall well-being. Following strength training, women with fibromyalgia felt substantial improvements in their own wellness.
Physical functioning. Strength training led women to feel more capable of handling their normal activities.
Pain. Women felt noticeably less pain following the training program.
Tender point reduction. Strength training decreased the amount of active tender points.
Strength. As you would expect, training led to big strength gains for women with fibromyalgia.

The results above were obtained in about 4-5 months of strength training. (It’s possible the benefits could be noticed sooner).

Real People With Fibromyalgia

The study results support our experiences working with many clients who had fibromyalgia. As is typical with fibromyalgia cases, the fibromyalgia symptoms were different from client to client.

One woman struggled to sleep well and had various pain spots. Within two months of starting, she was sleeping better and had less pain.
Another woman had chest and arm pain along with general fatigue. She experienced pain reduction and felt more energetic throughout the school day after a few months.
One man, age 68, experienced fibromyalgia and arthritis in his hips and knees and wanted to get through his long workdays without feeling exhausted. Not only did he accomplish an energy boost, he also lost 11 lbs.

Being that fibromyalgia manifests in such different ways from person to person, it requires consistent communication between the trainer and the client. If you have fibromyalgia, talk to your trainer about what you feel during and after training.

Your trainer at The Perfect Workout will work with you to find the right combination of exercises to help you have no negative sensations after while making progress.

Fibromyalgia doesn’t have to stop you from living a high quality life. Feel less pain, gain more strength, and feel better about your health with two short strength training sessions per week.

References

Busch, A.J., Webber, S.C., Richards, R.S., Bidonde, J., Schachter, C.L., Danyliw, A., … Overend, T.J. (2013). Resistance training (such as weight-lifting) for fibromyalgia. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 12 (CD010884).
Center for Disease Control. (2020). Fibromyalgia. National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/arthritis/basics/fibromyalgia.htm
Iliades, C. (2018). Easing the pain of fibromyalgia naturally. Everyday Health. Retrieved from https://www.everydayhealth.com/fibromyalgia/8-natural-fibromyalgia-treatments/

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Your Virtual Trainer For Fitness & Mindset Mastery

Certified in group fitness, functional training, & Slow Motion Strength Training…

m.s., Fibromyalgia, weight loss... He's Helping all of them

As a model and actor, for years it has literally been Jeffrey Blockson’s job to stay in shape.

Jeff lives a simple but strict motto that no matter what age you are, or where you come from, you don’t have any excuses to not take care of what’s most important- your health.

Must be easy for someone who models, right?

Even though Jeff has put in hard work and dedication to stay strong and healthy it CAN be easy for anyone. Take it from some of his clients who have Multiple Sclerosis, Fibromyalgia, and lifelong weight loss struggles…

They are living proof that it only takes 20 minutes, twice a week to take control of your health, no matter what.

In college, Jeffrey noticed that a lot of his friends and fellow classmates lacked time and money, which made it challenging for them to exercise regularly and eat healthy foods. With his own experience staying in shape and a desire to help people balance a healthy life with a hectic schedule, Jeff’s personal training career began to bud.

When he learned about slow-motion strength training, Jeffrey became even more enthralled with the idea of only needing 20 minutes to get in a workout and care for yourself. This method makes better health much more accessible to those who struggle to get it.

After experiencing a workout at one of The Perfect Workout’s Chicago studios, he knew he wanted to be involved in the company.

Those with M.S. Can Do It

During his time as a trainer at The Perfect Workout, Jeff has helped many clients work through specific conditions. His client Pat has Multiple Sclerosis (MS) which causes her to use a walker.

But that doesn’t get in the way of her workouts.

“Oh, no, trust me, don't let that fool you. She'll get on the leg press and kill it.”

Pat and Jeff’s work together has helped her gain strength, improve her balance, and lose weight.

Just recently, she told Jeff that she surpassed her weight loss goals and she didn’t feel like she needed to lose any more weight.

Read more about some of our clients success working out with M.S. below 👇🏽

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Those With Weight Loss Struggles Can Do It

One of Jeff’s favorite college courses was Psychology because he enjoys diving deep into the psyche of people to understand them better.

As a Personal Trainer, he gets to use these skills to understand the real why behind his clients wanting to improve their body and health.

As certified Personal Trainers, we can better serve our clients and help them reach their goals when we know what motivates them.

One of Jeff’s clients was a little closed off when they first began working together. She came in looking to lose weight and tone up, some very common goals with new clients. But Jeff was determined to find out her deeper motivation.

After building trust, getting to know one another, and Jeff’s persistence to understand his client he finally found out why she wanted to reshape her body.

“She finally broke down to me. She said, ‘When I was a little girl, my father told me that I was overweight. He used to call me fat. He used to call me these names all the time. And here I am. I am 50-something years old and I'm still that same little girl.’”

“When you get to those moments, not only do you gain trust, but you can truly understand the client and I'm all about that.”

Those With Fibromyalgia Can Do It

Jeffrey began working with a woman named Nella in Orland Park, IL before he took over the SW San Jose studio in California.

Nella’s husband had been training with Jeffrey and had been trying to get her into the studio. Nella has fibromyalgia and was concerned it would get in the way of exercise. But she decided to try the workout one day and fell in love with it.

A symptom of fibromyalgia is chronic pain and stiffness, both of which she would experience often- even in workouts.

One day, she was on the leg press machine and stopped. She put her head down and it prompted Jeffrey to ask her if everything was okay.

Then, she started to cry.

“She told me that, with her condition, it always feels like spinning. And she said, for a short moment, it stopped. And she can't think of the last time she felt that way.”

And the progress only got better.

Nella used to come to her workouts using a cane, but eventually she was able to stop using it and began moving around much faster.

“These moments are just incredible.”

And one of the most incredible parts is that despite these challenges and conditions for clients like Nella and Pat, they are still able to change their lives with a 20-minute workout with a Trainer.

Anyone Can Do It, No Matter What

Whether you’re inspired by Pat getting stronger despite her MS and need for a walker, or Nella’s ability to ditch her cane, we want you to know this…

If they can do it, so can you.

All it takes is 20 minutes, twice a week!

Tag: Fibromyalgia