Ever felt a sudden sharp stabbing and burning sensation spread throughout your body? If it persists for long, check if you have fibromyalgia. Persistent flare-ups can feel frustrating over time.
Fibromyalgia is known to be incurable but bearable with self-management techniques. In this blog, we will describe a fibromyalgia flare-up along with its triggers, symptoms, and management.
Table of Contents
How Does the Pain of Fibromyalgia Feel Like?
The most common indication of fibromyalgia is widespread pain in the whole body. It could be worse in some areas, like the back or neck.
The pain feels like a sharp stabbing, accompanied by a burning sensation.
Two terms are used to describe this pain: allodynia (in which you feel pain from something that should not be painful, e.g., light touch) or hyperalgesia (you are extremely sensitive to pain).
What Triggers Fibromyalgia?
Due to the complexity of the condition, fibromyalgia is often misdiagnosed and requires careful clinical evaluation for accurate diagnosis. It mimics other conditions, and the fibromyalgia flare-up causes are still being researched.
However, several factors worsen your fibromyalgia flare-up symptoms. As per NHS’s recent studies, sensitivity to certain stimuli or triggers primarily causes a flare.
Most people experience a flare during periods of high physical and emotional stress.
This includes a sudden, unexpected incident, tragic loss, giving birth, injury, or trauma.
Increased stress indicates a rise in the release of cortisol hormone and hormonal disturbance, causing another potential trigger.
However, usual conditions such as sleeplessness, anxiety, fatigue, temperature changes, and nutrition imbalances also cause flare-ups.
Along with the causes above, a family history of fibromyalgia and genetic variations may increase your chances of experiencing this condition 13-fold. A history of certain infections such as Lyme disease or Epstein Barr Virus may also increase the likelihood.
What are the Symptoms of Fibromyalgia?
The symptoms of fibromyalgia depends on your lifestyle and exposure to environmental triggers. It varies with individuals, as certain stimuli may be adverse for some people whilst normal for others.
Some common complaints include:
- Severe and widespread musculoskeletal pain
- Tenderness in the whole body
- Joint stiffness and swelling
- Extreme sensitivity to light, touch, sound, smell, or certain foods
- Sleep disturbances
- Fatigue
- Impaired concentration or fibro fog
- Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
- Central nervous system dysfunction
- Slurred speech
- Numbness or tingling in hands and feet
These symptoms can severely impact your quality of life. It can even lead to anxiety or depression due to the stress of coping with the condition and not being able to participate well. Moreover, females are more prone to experiencing fibromyalgia than males.
How Long Does a Fibromyalgia Flare Last?
Fibromyalgia flare-up duration lasts from anywhere around a few days to a week for some people. However, it is highly variable and may exceed even months or years for some.
During this period, regular activities like walking, bathing, or cooking feel like a tough job.
Can Rheumatic Conditions Trigger Fibromyalgia Symptoms?
Yes, if you are suffering from rheumatic disease, you are more susceptible to symptoms of fibromyalgia.
Rheumatic diseases, including osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and ankylosing spondylitis, affect the bones, muscles, and joints and increase stiffness and inflammation during a flare-up.
How to Manage Fibromyalgia Flare-Ups?
Fibromyalgia flare-up treatment depends on the type and severity of your symptoms. Controlling the triggers and risk factors reduces the occurrence most of the time. If it occurs, managing fibromyalgia flare-ups usually requires combined interventions.
Control of Triggers
Identifying and controlling certain triggers is central to preventing a flare-up. Early signs of fibromyalgia flare include sudden irritation to any stimuli, or a sudden rise in pain.
Journaling activities and recording sleep duration, food, and symptoms of fibromyalgia help identify triggers.
A careful record of such activities highlights patterns of flare-up, thereby reducing its occurrence.
The Fibromyalgia Diagnostic Worksheet by the Royal College of Physicians is an excellent resource for tracking fibromyalgia flare-ups.
It includes a body map to mark areas of pain, a symptom severity scale, and clear scoring guidelines to help assess the intensity of your symptoms during a flare.
Regular Physical Activity and Exercise
Following a regular exercise plan reduces symptoms. Fibromyalgia flare-up remedies, including low-impact activities such as swimming, tai-chi, yoga, walking, and aerobics, decrease the intensity of pain and make the condition manageable.
Resistance activities and strengthening exercises increase muscle strength and improve the quality of life.
Quality Sleep
Exhaustion and fatigue exacerbate fibromyalgia flare-ups. Sleep hygiene practices such as a sleep routine and increasing nap times help improve health.
Limiting screen time and caffeine intake also improves the duration of sleep.
Avoid Overexertion and Fatigue
Although regular physical activity is recommended, activity and rest periods should be balanced. Overexertion and stress aggravate the symptoms, potentially leading to a flare-up.
Moreover, there are good days when you feel active and face fewer symptoms and bad days when the symptoms worsen. Make sure to evaluate your day and work or rest accordingly.
Nutrition and Diet
Careful evaluation of your meals can save you from fibromyalgia flares. Some foods aggravate the symptoms of fibromyalgia. Eliminating these foods from your diet helps manage the condition.
Maintaining a quality diet reduces the risk of other health conditions and balances energy levels.
Medical Treatment
Managing fibromyalgia flare-ups is more complicated than preventing its development. As the symptoms of fibromyalgia vary, so does the treatment. Its treatment is highly personalised and depends on individual complaints and symptoms.
Medication, along with lifestyle modifications, may help you manage the condition.
To reduce anxiety and improve the quality of your sleep, you may take anti-opioid and anti-depressant medications.
Psychological Interventions
If you have tried lifestyle modifications and have been suffering from this condition for a long time, it may be time to go to psychotherapy for additional benefits.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) sessions or psychotherapy help you manage the associated anxiety and depression. It reduces your stress levels, thereby decreasing the severity of pain.
FAQs about Fibromyalgia Flares
What are the daily struggles of fibromyalgia?
People living with fibromyalgia face many limitations in their daily activities, including difficulty in decision-making and cognitive functions, participating in group activities, attending regular physical activity sessions, and more.
Which massage technique is helpful for fibromyalgia?
Swedish massage, trigger point therapy, deep tissue massage, myofascial therapy, and Thai massage have been proven to help manage pain due to fibromyalgia.
How to calm fibromyalgia flare-ups?
Relaxation techniques and activities that promote relaxation and reduce anxiety, such as deep breathing techniques or meditation, can help manage flare–ups. Generally, anything that relaxes you, even music, painting, or any other activity, is effective.
What is the best lifestyle for fibromyalgia?
Regular exercise may reduce your sensitivity to pain. Make sure to use gentle and minimally intensive exercises, with subsequent breaks in between, to avoid fatigue.
Will I ever feel normal again with fibromyalgia?
Fibromyalgia is a chronic condition with no known cure. It is more of a manageable condition rather than a treatable one. But this does not mean you will never feel normal again.
Get Expert Help for Better Management
You can manage fibromyalgia through specific lifestyle changes, self-management techniques, and avoiding triggers. However, you need to consult an expert to identify your triggers and manage individual symptoms.
Dr. Yasser Mehrez is a pain-management consultant in the UK. Describe a fibromyalgia flare up in your case, and he will carefully evaluate your history and plan your treatment accordingly. He uses modern pain-management techniques to alleviate your triggers and symptoms. Consult with Dr Mehrez today!
