Thursday, August 27, 2015

When a Peek at Chronic Pelvic Pain Isn't Enough




Chronic pelvic pain comes in many forms and there are different symptoms and diagnoses to consider. Following are links to my three part series as contributing chronic pain pro at Health Central.




1 - Essential Elements of Pelvic Pain in Men and Women 

Pelvic pain can originate from different sources and it can be acute or chronic. Regardless, there are contributing factors to consider. Some are very treatable and others can be more difficult to manage. Acute pelvic pain is a warning sign that comes on suddenly lasting a few minutes to a few days depending on the cause. Chronic pelvic pain can be constant or come flares and symptoms can vary in character and intensity. Knowing what and when to report any unusual symptoms to your doctor is important, because some causes of pelvic pain when left untreated can cause permanent damage that could be avoided when we know what to do…

2 - The Secret to Pelvic Pain and the Myofascia 

If you have chronic pelvic pain (CPP), you know the symptoms. What you may not know is that myofascial trigger points, shortened pieces of muscle fiber that form a knot and shorten the muscle involved, play a role of their own in this painful disorder... 

3 - Why knowing the cause of pelvic pain is essential to treatment

Chronic pelvic pain can be constant or come and go with a flare up of symptoms. Symptoms can be mild to severe and can vary in intensity during the day or with a flare. The character of pelvic pain can be different too. For instance, someone with painful bladder syndrome or prostatitis has a symptom in common, burning with urination (dysuria), but pain associated with irritable bowel syndrome is described as cramping or churning. Symptoms vary depending on the underlying cause of their pain. That’s why it is important to know how to report your symptoms... 

 (Signature line appended, March 2018)
In healing,
Celeste Cooper, RN / Author, Freelancer, Advocate

Think adversity?-See opportunity!


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All blogs and comments are based on the author's opinions and are not meant to replace medical advice.  

Sunday, August 16, 2015

The Why and the Way Fibromyalgia Studies are Important to You


To get a better understanding of fibromyalgia and the disorders that cluster with them, we need to study them side-by-side so any trends are exposed. Also important is screening for the presence of myofascial pain syndrome (MPS) to assure the participant pool has been identified correctly, because MPS is known as the great imitator.

It’s Not Just Fibro

Many pain disorders have centralization affects, probably most, so while looking at centralization in fibromyalgia; we may need to be more diverse in our thinking. Dr. Robert Bennett and his team 
found that fibromyalgia is often accompanied by another pain disorder. Therefore, while we do experience body-wide pain not directly related to injury or peripheral disease (which indicates centralization-involvement of the brain), and sleep problems, fatigue, and cognitive issues, we also have clustering of disorders. The American College of Rheumatology identifies depression or anxiety, migraine, tension headaches, digestive and bladder problems, pelvic pain, and TMJ. The CDC suggests FM occurs with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and ankylosing spondylitis (AS), and it could have a loose underlying genetic factor. Low back pain syndrome is also considered a disorder of centralization, but chronic low back pain patients do not share a clustering of noted disorders. If we compare the two, it suggests that centralization of pain is not the only factor at play in fibromyalgia. It could be, and is suggested in some studies that the amplification of pain by the brain (centralization) is not the only central nervous system involvement.

Investigators are doing some interesting work by looking at fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome together because they are often associated. Gene expression  might help us understand clustering in a meaningful way. Leaky gut syndrome has been associated with fibromyalgia and a study on ME/CFS and the association and treatment of leaky gut holds some promise. Since these two disorders frequently occur together, this might help us find better treatments. Though the results differ somewhat, studies suggest the need for more research regarding abnormal immune reactions in both FM and ME/CFS (SEID). Interestingly, leaky gut syndrome has been implicated in many autoimmunedisorders and in irritable bowel syndrome,  prevalent in fibromyalgia.


Myofascia and Fibromyalgia: Could There Be an Answer to Your Question?

Any time a person tells me their physician cannot explain neuropathy symptoms (numbness, tingling, sensitivity, weakness, cramping, spasms, etc.), I ask them to learn more about myofascial pain syndrome (MPS).  Myofascial trigger points  are pain generators in many of the comorbid conditions identified in this article. Rheumatologists are internal medicine doctors and many do not understand MPS, how to assess for it, or what treatments work. However, there are physicians and therapists who do.

You will find an article I did at Health Central from an interview with pain specialist, Dr. Karl Hurst-Wicker quite interesting.   It is a necessary read for anyone who wants to understand the role of centralization and peripheral pain generation in fibromyalgia and other unexplained pain.

It’s time to get it right. When funding by unbiased organizations is at an all time low, such as the NIH, we need to make every effort to do it the right way. If you have any of the clustering of symptoms, report them to your doctor and share this blog. Every piece of data counts and so do you.


Resources linked:

American College of Rheumatology, Fibromyalgia

Center for Disease Control, Fibromyalgia


Health Central, Fibromyalgia Centralization and Peripheral Myofascial Pain: Interview with Karl Hurst-Wicker, MD





Myofascial Pain Syndrome at CelesteCooper.com


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"Adversity is only an obstacle if we fail to see opportunity."  
Celeste Cooper, RN
Author—Patient—Health Central Chronic Pain ProAdvocate


Learn more about what you can do to help your body function to its potential in the books you can find here on Celeste's  blog


All answers and blogs are based on the author's opinions and writing and are not meant to replace medical advice.  

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