Fibromyalgia affects up to four million adults in the U.S. alone. Unfortunately, fibromyalgia has no cure, and those who suffer from this chronic condition are only offered treatments that work to reduce symptoms to improve their quality of life.
As researchers continue to study this perplexing condition, they discover new connections between fibromyalgia and the immune system.
What Is Fibromyalgia?
Fibromyalgia is a chronic condition that healthcare providers still struggle to understand. Symptoms of fibromyalgia are similar to many other illnesses and include:
Muscle and bone pain
Fatigue
Sensitivity and tenderness
Sleep disruptions
Brain fog
There are no tests to diagnose fibromyalgia definitively, so the condition is often misdiagnosed.
What Causes Fibromyalgia?
While the cause of fibromyalgia is unknown, researchers are getting closer to understanding the condition through its connection to the immune system.
Patients with rheumatoid arthritis and lupus, both autoimmune diseases, are more likely to have fibromyalgia. Autoimmune diseases occur when the body mistakenly unleashes its immune response against the healthy cells of organs and tissues.
Fibromyalgia can occur in conjunction with other autoimmune diseases. Additionally, fibromyalgia symptoms like fatigue and brain fog often overlap with autoimmune disorders.
These factors led researchers to theorize that fibromyalgia may be an autoimmune disorder, even though it doesn’t cause inflammation, a common symptom of autoimmune diseases.
In a recent study, mice injected with auto-antibodies from people with fibromyalgia began to experience fibromyalgia-like symptoms. This new development may lead to new tests to diagnose fibromyalgia and new treatments for those suffering from the condition.
Living with Fibromyalgia
Patients with fibromyalgia suffer from the pain, fatigue, and other symptoms associated with the condition, in addition to common social misconceptions. While fibromyalgia doesn’t have a cure, symptoms are often well-managed through diet and exercise, medications, alternative therapies, and stress relief.
Patients are exploring regenerative medicine, also known as stem cell therapy, to help manage their symptoms experienced with fibromyalgia or an autoimmune condition. Stem cells are the building blocks and, specifically, mesenchymal stem cells have the regenerative properties to differentiate into any cell type while also addressing pain and inflammation within the body.
Muscle spasticity is one of the most challenging symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Patients with MS often experience a tightening or stiffening of the lower body muscles in the legs, groin, buttocks, and back.
Muscle spasticity can affect the ability to stand, walk, and balance and is one of the biggest detriments to a patient’s quality of life. Muscle spasticity can worsen during quick stretches or movements. However, when done correctly, gentle stretches can help patients manage spasticity effectively.
Hip Crossovers
While lying on your back, bend your knees at a 45-degree angle, draw them together, and gently let both knees lower to one side, holding for 30 seconds. Then pull the knees back to the center and slowly lower them to the other side.
In this hip stretch, your goal is to decrease tightness, not get your knees to the floor, so only lower them as far as it feels okay. Keep your arms out to the side in a “T,” palms down. Move slowly.
Hip Flexor Stretches
Lying on your back, rest on the lower half of your bed with your knees and lower legs hanging off the edge. You should feel a stretch in your hip flexors located at the front of your hip. Aim to build up to a 30-second, then 60-second hold.
Calf Stretches
Placing a rolled-up towel on the floor, step on the towel with the ball of your foot, keeping your weight on the back of the foot. Then, step the opposite foot slightly forward, still maintaining the weight on the back of the foot, stretching the calf.
Foot Rolls
When seated, place a rubber ball on the floor and roll your foot over the ball, paying particular attention to places on your foot that lack feeling or feel disengaged.
Ankle Stretches
While seated, hold a rolled towel at both ends, wrapping the towel under one foot. Lift the foot and towel with both hands and try to keep the leg extended for up to 30 seconds.
Tips for Exercising with Muscle Spasticity
Muscle spasticity affects everyone differently. If you experience muscle spasticity when extending your legs, avoid stretches that straighten the knee and hip to that point. Also, patients who incorporate stretches regularly see the most benefits and better movement.
If your spasticity worsens, or you’re not finding relief from the suggested exercises, schedule time with a physical therapist to learn about the best exercises for your needs.
Most people understand what collagen is, but many are not yet familiar with liposomal vitamin C. Both of these substances are beneficial for improving gut health and reducing the inflammation that can cause stiff, swollen joints.
Benefits of Collagen
Collagen is a protein found naturally in the human body. In fact, it is the most abundant protein in the body. It is located in the musculoskeletal system, in blood vessels, and also in the digestive system.
It is often thought of as the “glue” that holds the body together. Even before the age of 30, most people have started losing their collagen stores. By 40, it is depleting more quickly than we can produce it.
Though it is mostly known for keeping skin youthful, collagen is vital in maintaining a healthy digestive system. It helps repair leaky gut by sealing the intestines and protecting them from toxins in the digestive tract.
Collagen is necessary to “heal, seal, and repair” the gut lining and return the digestive system to its natural balance.
Benefits of Liposomal Vitamin C
Liposomes are “nano-sized” transporters. They are responsible for carrying nutrients directly from the blood to the body’s cells. Liposomal vitamin C is a type of vitamin C that is more easily absorbed by the body. Microscopic droplets of fat-soluble liposomes encapsulate the vitamin C, making it easier to transport and access.
Nearly 80% of water-soluble vitamin C is excreted from the body, but almost 90% of liposomal vitamin C is directly absorbed into the digestive tract cells.
Liposomal vitamin C is easier on the gut and may help reduce the GI symptoms related to taking high doses of water-soluble vitamin C. Vitamin C is an important supplement for reducing inflammatory markers. It has effectively reduced the inflammatory symptoms associated with colds, flu, and seasonal allergies.
Scientists researching the human gastrointestinal tract’s microorganisms continue to find significant connections between the gut and patients’ overall health.
The gut microbiome, which is the name for these microorganisms, has inspired many studies as researchers continue to understand their impact on everything from brain disorders to joint pain.
While initial studies linking the gut microbiome to cognitive function showed connections, those studies used animal experiments and small clinical studies. On a larger scale, scientists examining the gut microbiome’s relationship to cognitive function recruited middle-aged participants from another study in four U.S. metropolitan areas.
Previous Studies
Previous studies looking at connections between the gut microbiome and cognitive function found links for short-chain fatty acids produced in the microbiota to influence cognitive health.
In animal experiments, rodents with reduced diversity in their gut microbiome showed cognitive defects, including reduced memory, impaired working memory, and changes in their brain.
Small-scale human studies also showed associations between the gut microbiome and cognition, including improvements when comparing controls to people treated with probiotics to increase their gut microbiome.
The Newest Results
In scientists’ newest study, they analyzed the cognitive function and microbiomes of 597 participants between 48 and 60 years old, with a mean age of 55. The study focused on participants’ gut microbiome diversity in connection with six cognitive tests.
The studies concluded a significant association between participants’ microbial composition and cognitive function. All of the conclusions drawn were in line with the previous small-scale human studies and animal studies.
Conclusions
While researchers carefully note that this study needs replication in larger human samples, some of the initial findings support short-chain fatty acids playing an instrumental role in regulating the interaction between the gut and the brain, known as the gut-brain axis.
Short-chain fatty acids are one of the main byproducts of the microbiome and may have neuroactive properties.
Animal studies found short-chain fatty acids protecting the brain against vascular dementia and cognitive impairment. Recent results support a strong connection between nutrition, microbiome composition, and cognitive function.
The neurodegenerative condition known as multiple sclerosis (MS) causes chronic inflammation within the central nervous system. For decades, clinicians and researchers have tirelessly studied MS to understand the condition better and develop more effective treatments.
Recently, researchers from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health concluded a study that examined the link between the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and multiple sclerosis. They found “compelling evidence of causality” between EBV and MS.
Researchers analyzed data from over 10 million active-duty U.S. military personnel during the study. Of these participants, 955 received an MS diagnosis while serving.
Researchers reviewed serum samples that were collected biennially in order to check for the presence of EBV. As a result of the study, researchers discovered that soldiers were 32 times more likely to develop MS after experiencing an EBV infection.
However, it is essential to note that MS symptoms typically do not manifest until approximately ten years after patients acquire an EBV infection. Researchers theorized that this delayed onset might be partially attributed to ineffective MS diagnosis protocols, as early symptoms are difficult to detect.
What This Means for MS Patients
Currently, no effective EBV infection treatments or preventatives exist. However, researchers are optimistic that the development of an EBV vaccine or antivirals could pave the way for a multiple sclerosis cure.
In the meantime, patients suffering from MS should continue to work with their primary care providers to mitigate the impact of symptoms and slow the progression of the condition.
For those seeking an alternative treatment option, stem cell therapy has shown some promise for treating neurodegenerative conditions like MS. Stem cell therapy may yield several positive benefits such as a reduction in muscle spasticity, improved balance, increased energy, and reduced muscle pain.
What if there was one simple thing Multiple Sclerosis (MS) patients could do every day to increase energy levels, reduce fatigue, and help prevent the chance of injury from falls?
Great news—there are simple exercises you can do at home without expensive gym memberships or special equipment. Try these stretching, strengthening, and balance moves to help improve your overall wellness.
Marching in Place for Balance
Stand with your feet about hip-width apart. Contract your abdominal muscles, and slowly bring one knee off the floor in a marching position. Lift the thigh parallel to the floor if you can.
Pause for a count of three, and slowly lower the leg. Repeat on the other side. Continue for five repetitions, working your way up to 10–15 repetitions.
Wall Push-Ups for Stretching and Upper-Body Strength
Stand or sit facing a wall, approximately two feet away, with your feet together. Place both palms flat on the wall with arms straight at shoulder height, slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.
Lean in, keeping elbows tucked to your sides. Bring your nose close to the wall, and feel the gentle stretching in your calves and chest. Hold for one breath, checking to make sure your back is straight.
Slowly return to the starting position. Repeat three times, building to as many repetitions as you can.
Single-Leg Pose for Balance
Do this exercise while holding onto a chair or table for stability, especially if you have problems with balance or are receiving treatment for a neurodegenerative condition.
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Lift your arms parallel to the floor, keeping one hand on a stable surface. Straighten one leg in front of you with your heel a few inches off the floor.
Hold and balance for up to 30 seconds. Lower your foot back to the ground. Repeat on both legs for three repetitions.
Over Head Press for Upper-Body Strength
Use lightweight dumbbells for this exercise. If you don’t have weights, try using soup cans or full water bottles.
Holding your weights, stand (or sit) with a straight posture, arms out to your sides, and bent upward with your hands at ear height. Stretch your arms up, keeping your back straight and lifting the dumbbells over your head. Your biceps should be close to your ears. Return to the starting position. Repeat ten times.
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