Fibromyalgia

At the Brain Wellness and Biofeedback Center, we treat Fibromyalgia with a complementary treatment plan, designed individually to suit the clients’ needs and their presenting symptoms. No two people suffering from Fibromyalgia suffer the same set of symptoms, which is why we are a unique treatment facility.

We take an interdisciplinary approach to treatment and include the client’s treatment team in the planning and treatment process. For example, sEMG may show a severe muscle imbalance in the shoulders. Muscle re-education is begun as part of the treatment, however, when performing the exercises, the client is unable to quiet other muscles extraneous to the specified movement. At this point a physical therapy (PT) evaluation might be suggested to assess and help resolve the muscles’ inability to fire independently. Working together, the client gets the manual intervention from PT, and the biofeedback from BWB to further his or her ability to obtain healthier voluntary control of those muscles.

A recent example of quick positive response to the evaluation for FMS symptoms is that of a woman who is coming for treatment as a supplement to her therapies in her home country. During the EMG evaluation it became obvious that one of the physical therapy exercises she had been doing faithfully was actually contributing to chronic leg/hip pain. Before the EMG evaluation was over she was already feeling less pain. The EEG evaluation also showed significant imbalances and the combined treatments have enabled her to be much more active, physically and mentally, than she has been since the last car accident that plunged her into chronic pain.

Since FM is a complex set of symptoms we find that we are most successful if we utilize several different clinical interventions. The following case study illustrates this point:

A thirty-five-year-old woman diagnosed with FM complains of severe fogginess, pain, anxiety, and irritability. We applied a three-pronged approach to her treatment, including EEG Biofeedback, HRV, and sEMG. This woman worked as an instructor so she was responsible for generating lesson plans, goals, objectives, and the actual teaching of the classes. Up until this time, the planning was very arduous and time consuming because she had difficulty with her thinking process. After receiving EEG biofeedback, she felt back to her old self, able to easily plan and carry out her instructional program. Muscle biofeedback was utilized to help decrease her muscle pain through neuromuscular re-education, postural re-training, relaxation, and muscle awareness exercises. Her pain levels did not necessarily decrease, however, she felt that she was better able to sustain activity because she learned how to use her muscles in a much healthier manner. HRV biofeedback was geared toward lowering her anxiety and irritability. Over the course of having FM for many years, as well as a challenging home situation, she developed a hyper-sensitive and over-aroused nervous system. Using HRV she became much more aware of her triggers, her physiological responses, and how to change those reactions to lower her body’s overall arousal. Using these combined interventions, our client experienced fewer FM symptoms, and felt she was better equipped to manage those symptoms which she still experienced.

The nature of physical injuries often determines the limits of recovery. A young professional woman whose pain was caused in a car accident regained her cognitive abilities enabling her to function at her previous high level with less effort and time. However, the forces involved have caused a loss of the natural curve of the neck and this requires specialized treatment. Fortunately we often help identify this particular type of problem and refer for appropriate therapy. The same is true for chronic infections that can go undiagnosed for years. Our referral network of physicians and other therapists are close collaborators to create an effective treatment team.

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General Information about Fibromyalbia
Fibromyalgia syndrome (also called "FMS" or "FM") is a complex, chronic condition which causes widespread pain and fatigue, as well as a variety of other symptoms. The name fibromyalgia comes from "fibro" meaning fibrous tissues (such as tendons and ligaments), "my" meaning muscles, and "algia" meaning pain. Unlike arthritis, fibromyalgia does not cause pain or swelling in the joints themselves; rather, it produces pain in the soft tissues located around joints, skin, and organs throughout the body. Because fibromyalgia produces few symptoms that are outwardly noticeable, it has been nicknamed "the invisible disability" or the "irritable everything" syndrome.

The pain of fibromyalgia usually consists of diffuse aching or burning described as "head-to-toe", and it is often accompanied by muscle spasm. Its severity varies from day to day and can change location, becoming more severe in parts of the body that are used the most (i.e., the neck, shoulders, and feet). In some people, the pain can be intense enough to interfere greatly with work and ordinary, daily tasks, while in others it causes only mild discomfort. Likewise, the fatigue of fibromyalgia also varies from person to person ranging from a mild, tired feeling to the exhaustion of a flu-like illness. The good news is that FMS is neither crippling nor fatal.

Although the exact prevalence of FMS in the general population is difficult to ascertain, up to 10 million Americans have been estimated to have fibromyalgia syndrome, and the condition exists around the world. While most prevalent in adult women, fibromyalgia also occurs in children, the elderly, and men. 

In addition to pain and fatigue, a number of allied symptoms/syndromes are currently associated with FMS. Patients typically experience one or more of the following:

Cognitive Disorders: Persons with FMS report a number of cognitive symptoms which tend to vary from day to day. These include difficulty concentrating, "spaciness," short-term memory lapses, and being overwhelmed easily. Many fibromyalgia patients refer to such symptoms as "fibro-fog".

Depression And Anxiety: Although FMS patients are frequently misdiagnosed with depression or anxiety disorders ("it's all in your head"), research has repeatedly shown that fibromyalgia is not a form of depression or hypochondriasis. However, where depression or anxiety exist concomitant to fibromyalgia, their treatment is important as both can exacerbate FMS and interfere with successful symptom management.

Please see the description of our treatment modalities for more information.  Also, please see information about fibromyalgia under the Closed Head Injury/TBI information.