Disease characterized by pain throughout the body does not show up on tests and affects women more than men
The February Purple campaign aims to raise public awareness of fibromyalgia, a clinical syndrome that manifests itself through pain throughout the body, especially at the muscle level. According to a survey by the Brazilian Society of Pain Studies (SBED), fibromyalgia affects 3% of the Brazilian population, with a higher incidence among women – 90% of diagnosed cases concern women – aged between 25 and 50 years.
According to Amelie Falconi, interventional pain doctor, because it is a disease considered invisible – it does not appear in laboratory tests and is not easy to diagnose – and because it affects more middle-aged women, fibromyalgia is often surrounded by many prejudices.
“Pain is the subject of much disbelief. They are never considered real, but emotional, psychological, even the result of a lack of religiosity. This is why patients are often labeled as ‘fresh’, suffering a kind of silence, not only from relatives and friends, but also from the healthcare system,” she says.
But the pain is very real. “It’s like every pain is amplified,” Amelie says.
A very common characteristic of those suffering from fibromyalgia is great sensitivity to pain, which can be triggered by muscle compression or even a simple touch.
“As if this were not enough, patients affected by the syndrome present numerous other symptoms, including fatigue (pathological tiredness), non-restorative sleep and, consequently, significant clinical repercussions on the emotional side, with the development of depressive and anxious,” he reports.
Overdiagnosis
Fibromyalgia does not appear in laboratory tests, which are usually requested, according to Amelie, only to exclude other hypotheses of pathologies that present similar conditions (tiredness and muscle pain), such as, for example, hypothyroidism.
“The diagnosis is primarily clinical,” says the interventional pain doctor, which makes exaggeration common in determining whether or not the patient has the syndrome.
“For patients who go to appointments or come to the emergency room complaining of pain in various places, doctors usually diagnose fibromyalgia, but they don’t always have the disease,” he says.
To avoid a misdiagnosis, Amelie recommends having the person reevaluated with a doctor who specializes in pain.
Exercise is the main treatment
Fibromyalgia is an incurable disease, but there is a treatment to relieve its symptoms. The main therapeutic tool is physical exercise, according to the pain interventionist, who considers lifestyle as a generating and treatment factor for those suffering from chronic pain.
“Initially the patient should undergo movement therapy, such as physiotherapy and/or exercise,” he says.
According to Amelie, including exercise into the routine of people with fibromyalgia is very challenging.
“Imagine how difficult it is to convince a patient who has pain all over his body, is always tired and doesn’t sleep well, to start doing physical activity,” he reflects.
Therefore, medications are also an important factor in treating the syndrome. “This is what the patient often needs to be able to make the necessary lifestyle changes – especially those related to exercise – to alleviate the pain,” she emphasizes.
However, the interventional doctor emphasizes, exercise should always be considered the main form of treatment. This does not mean, according to Amelie, that the patient should immediately adopt a heavy exercise load.
“This is a patient with chronic pain and fatigue, who is not used to carrying out activities for this very reason. Therefore it is important to start lightly and gradually, so that the body adapts to these activities,” he says.
In addition to the symptoms already described, fibromyalgia causes gastrointestinal changes in those who suffer from it. Therefore, according to the pain interventionist, an adequate diet, with little intake of processed, canned and refined foods and which gives priority to the consumption of “natural foods” such as rice, beans, greens, fruit, meat and eggs, it is important for controlling symptoms and also for regulating the intestinal microbiota. An adequate diet can also be used as an adjuvant treatment of the pain caused by the syndrome.
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Source: Terra
Ben Stock is a lifestyle journalist and author at Gossipify. He writes about topics such as health, wellness, travel, food and home decor. He provides practical advice and inspiration to improve well-being, keeps readers up to date with latest lifestyle news and trends, known for his engaging writing style, in-depth analysis and unique perspectives.
