What's Ailing You?

> Allergies

> Asthma

> Bedwetting

> Degenerative arthritis

> Elbow pain

> Fibromyalgia

> Headaches

> Heartburn

> Herniated disc

> Hip pain

> Infertility

> Knee pain

> Low back pain

> Middle back pain

> Migraines

> Neck pain

> Numbness and Tingling

> Pinched nerve

> Scoliosis

> Shoulder pain

> Sinus problems

> Sleeping problems

> Spinal fracture

> Spinal surgery

> Sports injury

> Subluxation

> Vertigo and Dizziness

> Whiplash

Fibromyalgia

The term “Fibromyalgia” was put into use in 1976 and is used to describe a variety of symptoms from chronic pain in muscles, tendons, and ligaments, as well as severe fatigue, sleep disorders, irritable bowel, depression, anxiety, chronic headaches, dizziness, confusion, severe menstrual cramps, sensitive skin, muscle twitches, dry eyes and mouth, and numbness in hands and feet. The diagnosis of fibromyalgia is typically given to someone who has definite health problems for which medical doctors can give no definitive diagnosis. Some of the most recent theories on fibromyalgia state that it may be due to an under-responsive autonomic nervous system. This system is the manner in which the brain controls such automatic bodily functions as breathing and heart rate. Studies have found that fibromyalgia sufferers have abnormally high amounts of substance P in the spinal fluid, and therefore feel more pain than the average person at similar levels of stimulation. Other chemical hallmarks of this disorder include low serotonin, too much cortisol, not enough growth hormone, and beta-endorphin levels about half of normal. All of these hormone levels are controlled by glands which are controlled by the autonomic nervous system.

Gonstead Chiropractic and Fibromyalgia
Gonstead chiropractors’ primary goal is to normalize the function of the nervous system by removing interference. Proper communication between the brain and body ensures increased body function. Dr. Fredrick Wolfe, a respected rheumatologist and well-known investigator of fibromyalgia, found patients received more benefit from lifestyle modifications than from medical interventions. In his study chiropractic scored among the most effective treatments with 45.9% reporting great improvement and only 16.2% reporting no improvement. Another study compared chiropractic, medicine and placebo. The study did show some symptomatic benefit from medication, but reported “manipulation also improved the patients’ overall sense of well-being”. Yet another preliminary study reports a lessening of pain intensity, and improvement in sleep quality and fatigue levels in women with fibromyalgia who underwent chiropractic care.

What Gonstead patients are saying:

“No doctor of chiropractic could help me. For 10 years I had been taking pain pills which were changing my moods. Now no pills needed. I can do things I could not before and my way of life has been changed for the better.”
> Joe B.

“I really like this method (Gonstaed chiropractic). It’s proven effective for me. I am not in constant pain anymore and I feel healthier on the whole.”
> Denise J.

“I was sick constantly for 3 years and had to walk with a cane when I had the energy to get up at all. I started seeing a Gonstead doctor and at first had my doubts that he could help me, but I stuck with him. His treatments in conjunction with nutrition therapy are giving me my life back. My fibromyalgia is now not as severe and sometimes nonexistent! I really did not believe it was possible.”
> Linda G.

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Wolfe F. The clinical syndrome of fibrositis. Am J Medicine, 81(suppl 3A): 7-14, 1986.

Backstrom G, Rubin BR, When muscle pain won’t go away, Dallas, Taylor Publishing Company, 1992.

Hains, G, et al., JMPT- May 2000;23:225-30.

Cohen H, et al. Autonomic dysfunction in patients with fibromyalgia: application of power spectral analysis of heart rate variability. Semin Arthritis Rheum. 2000 Feb:29(4):197-9.

Pavia ES, et al., Impaired growth hormone secretion in fibromyalgia patients: evidence for augmented hypothalamic somatostatin tone. Arthritis Rheum. 2003 Jan:48(1):277-8.

Parker AJ, Wessely S, Cleare AJ, The neuroendocrinology of chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia. Psychol Med. 2001 Nov;31(8):1331-45.