What causes Fibromyalgia (FM)? There is no ONE known cause for Fibromyalgia, but researchers are discovering new information about this condition and it may not be long before we have a more definitive answer. There seems to be a number of factors involved. Researchers are focusing mainly on: autonomic nervous system dysfunction, chronic sleep disorders, emotional stress or trauma, immune or endocrine system dysfunction, upper spinal cord injury and viral or bacterial infection as causes of FM.
Exciting new research has also begun in the areas of brain imaging and neurosurgery. Ongoing research will test the hypothesis that FM is caused by an interpretative defect in the central nervous system that brings about abnormal pain perception. Medical researchers have just begun to untangle the truths about this life-altering disease.
Substance P – Recent studies have shown that people with FM process pain differently. There is a chemical in our cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) called Substance P that transmits pain impulses to the brain. Substance P has been found to be 3 times higher in Fibromyalgia sufferers than the average person. This can increase our pain perception and make it more intense.
fMRI – Research has also shown that FM patients are not only more sensitive to pain, but that the pain also effects the mood centers in the brain in a way that it does not in healthy individuals. This data has been proven through a brain scan called functional magnetic resonance imaging or fMRI, which allows researchers to observe the brain’s responses to pain in healthy people versus FM patients.
Trauma – Some scientists believe that FM is caused by a traumatic event like a fall, a car accident, lifting something incorrectly, etc. My Fibromyalgia worsened after the birth of my son. The pregnancy was rough and the delivery was LONG and INTENSE. I believe that is where most of my hip trouble started. Suddenly, I couldn’t walk without one of my hips feeling like it was about to pop out of its socket. Other symptoms worsened as well.
Sleep – Other researchers believe Fibromyalgia is caused by chronic sleep problems. It is during stage 4 sleep that the body renews itself and muscles recover from the activity. Sleep studies show that as people with FM enter stage 4 sleep, they stay in a lighter form of sleep. You may sleep longer, but your quality of sleep is poor. In one study, researchers took healthy volunteers and did not allow them to enter into stage 4 sleep, these people developed symptoms similar to those of fibromyalgia.
Genetics – Some scientists speculate that a person’s genes may regulate the way his or her body processes painful stimuli. This theory suggests that people with fibromyalgia may have a gene or genes that cause them to react intensely to stimuli that most people would not consider painful. Also, a history of FM or related diseases seem to run in families. For instance, my mother, grandmother, aunts & cousin all have fibromyalgia and some of us have chronic myofascial pain & other associated disorders. Back when their grandmother had it, she didn’t know what it was. She commonly referred to it as “my rheumatism”.
Infection – Some researchers believe that a viral or bacterial infection may trigger fibromyalgia.
Serotonin – Serotonin is a brain nerve chemical and is found to be lower in FM patients. It is one of the major neurotransmitters in the body. It affects sleep, pain thresholds, vascular constriction (narrowing of the blood vessels resulting from contracting of the muscular wall of the vessels. When blood vessels constrict, the flow of blood is restricted or slowed as well as dilation, hunger and libido. It also plays a prominent role in depression, anxiety, and possibly obsessive-compulsive disorders. That is why SSRI’s (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors) are popular in treating Fibromyalgia.
Low Growth Hormone Levels - IGF-1 (insulin-like growth factor 1) is a hormone that is controlled by the adult growth hormone, and promotes bone and muscle growth. Low levels of this hormone are related to a diminished ability to think, lack of energy, muscle weakness, and extreme sensitivity to cold. Severe growth hormone deficiency has been seen in a subset of Fibromyalgia patients. More research is needed but a 2005 study indicates that serum growth hormone levels may be an indicator of the FM.
I believe that with today’s technology and ongoing, aggressive research, we will have a definitive answer to the causes of the chronic pain condition we call Fibromyalgia within the next decade or sooner. As it becomes more recognized by the medical community and the average person, more research funding will be provided, better tests will be discovered and our lives will be bettered! Look at the progress that has been made in the last decade! Let’s look forward and see a brighter future!
Erica Thompson is a 40-year-old, Stay-at-Home mom with 3 children and a husband in the military. She was diagnosed with FMS in 1995, but suffered from it many years prior to diagnosis and later, diagnosed with Myofascial Pain Syndrome. She has done extensive research and is an expert based on her own experience, her mother’s and her grandmother’s. Her goal is to educate as many people as she can about FMS and all that goes with it. Mostly, she just wants to make FMS sufferers’ lives better – even just a little bit.
http://fibromyalgiahelp4us.com
