You know, everyone has aches and pains at some point. Everyone gets a little sore. Everyone has trouble sleeping sometimes.

But what if these aches and pains ARE your life?

Chronic and persistent joint pain that doesn't appear to be caused by any other identifiable disease is officially called Fibromyalgia. In other words, the term "fibromyalgia" describes chronic pain that has an unknown cause.

The first and most important task for any doctor is to obtain the correct diagnosis. After all, if a doctor does not know what is wrong, how can he fix it? The problem with fibromyalgia is that, essentially, science still does not know what causes it. Some theories have been advanced, such as autoimmune disease or chronic inflammation, but nothing is certain.

We do know that fibromyalgia is sometimes associated with some types of arthritis, but not always. We do know that fibromyalgia usually is diagnosed in women over men, but not always. We do know that fibromyalgia usually occurs during mid-life (ages 20 to 50), but not always.

The uncertainty surrounding the cause (or causes) of fibromyalgia makes it a difficult condition to treat. In fact, some women are told that "it's all in your head" because no definitive cause can be found. But fibromyalgia is a very real condition with very real consequences: headaches; stiffness; a loss of mental acuity (often called "fibro fog"); psychological distress from chronic pain; and working adults with fibromyalgia miss 17 days of work per year compared to the average worker, who misses only 6.

How We Can Help Your Fibromyalgia

Your fibromyalgia is unlikely to be exactly the same as anyone else's fibromyalgia. That means that you need personalized, empathetic, individualized health care. Personal care is especially important since no particular therapy has been proven more effective than any other therapy for the treatment of fibromyalgia. This means that a therapy that may work wonders for one person may not help another. Fibromyalgia demands flexibility in treatment.

Believe it or not, the best research-supported therapy for fibromyalgia relief is exercise! Although exercise may sound painful at first for a person with sore muscles and joints, clinical studies of low-impact exercise (like an exercise bicycle) have been shown to help nearly a third of fibromyalgia patients.

Since proper motion seems to be essential in the joints of fibromyalgia patients (and, indeed, with everybody), the low-force chiropractic adjustment is an excellent way to restore proper motion to spinal and extremity joints. The Activator instrument is the most popular low-force adjusting instrument in the world, and for good reason. The soft rubber tip provides as gentle a chiropractic experience as possible. Chiropractors are known for taking the time to create individualized care plans for each person.

Dr. Kyle Johnson of Johnson Family Chiropractic of Peoria follows the latest research on fibromyalgia and therapies, nutrition, and exercise. We are as eager as you are to find a solution or cure for everyone with fibromyalgia! Until a cure is found, the personalized care you'll find at Johnson Family Chiropractic of Peoria may be your best path to health.