Fibromyalgia is a chronic condition causing pain, stiffness, and tenderness of the muscles, tendons and joints. fibromyalgia is also characterized by poor sleep, awakening, chronic fatigue, depression, anxiety and disturbance of bowel function.

Fatigue occurs in 90% of patients and sleep disorder is common in patients with fibromyalgia. Although there are painful tissue involvement in fibromyslgia, but there are not accompanied by tissue inflammation. Therefore, fibromyalgia is different from many other rheumatic diseases by not developing body damage or deformity.

According to the American College of Rheumatology, fibromyalgia is the second most common rheumatice disorder in the Uninted States. It is estimated 8 to 9 millions of Americans suffering from fibromyalgia.

The cause of this condition is not well known, researches do not explored a single cause that provokes this non-inflammatory multi involvement illness. Fibromyalgia affects predominately women between the ages of 35 and 55. It can occur independently, or can be associated with another disease. In the United States, approximately 2% of the population affected by fibromyalgia.

Traditional treatment for fibromyalgia usually is a combination of education, stress reduction, exercise, and medications. Stretching exercises, heat application and gentle massage are treatments for fibromyalgia, but the therapeutic effects usually are of short duration. Long term usage of medications often carry unwanted side-effects.

Complementary and alternative therapies in the area of pain and stress management have been practiced for thousand of years. Such as acupuncture, chiropractic, yoga and meditation do appear to safely relieve pain and stress, and some are gaining acceptance in mainstream medicine.

 

The cause of fibromyalgia is still not clear by now. From the complex of appearance of this illness two things, multiple pain and stress, are the principle conditions. What is the relation between them or which is the cause and which is the result are issues to be discovered. Convention methods of therapy seem to apply two to several to combat fibromyalgia. The suffering of patient and the expense of medical resource are enormous.

 

According to the theory of Chinese Medicine, pain is caused by blockage of energy flow (in Chinese medicine called “Chi”) in the body. And once if the blockage were removed pain disappeared. There are energy flows (chi) floating in different systems or organs. They are very specific but related one to another. In applying this theory to the illness of fibromyalgia, evidently, all the symptoms of this illness are unitary related with diverse features. So far as we know Acupuncture is to use needles to agitate the energy flow of the body to move. With different points applying by needles, various specific flows of energy are promoted, sick areas returned to a balance status.

Scientific researches demonstrated acupuncture initiates electric magnetic change of cells of the body, including muscle fibers, nerve endings, receptors, brain, thyroid and adrenal gland. The voluntary muscles were relaxed in the peripheral and the smooth muscles were relaxed in the internal of the body by the effect of acupuncture. Furthermore, acupuncture stimulate the secretion of regulating hormone, endophines, on the same time, a stress relieving effect is thus gained as well.

 

In order to evaluate if a more radical form of care—acupuncture—can successfully treat people with fibromyalgia, two randomized-controlled trials are on going.

Researchers at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, Washington, will recruit 96 patients between the ages of 18-43 from a referral clinic and divide them into four groups. 3 of the groups will be used as controls (1 receiving acupuncture for an unrelated condition; 1 receiving needle insertion at non-meridian, non-point locations; and 1 receiving placebo acupuncture) with the fourth group receiving acupuncture two times a week for 12 weeks. Various parameters will track and analysis prior to treatment, and at the 1- and 6-month intervals after treatment to see if acupuncture provides any long-term benefits.

The other study, a Phase III trail conducting at Georgetown University, Washington D.C., that incorporate about 3,000 subjects between the ages of 18-65. Patients will randomized into one of four groups: active site acupuncture with stimulation; active acupuncture without stimulation; sham site acupuncture with stimulation; and sham acupuncture without stimulation. The trial will last 13 weeks, with all patients receiving treatment at an escalating frequency, beginning at once per week and ending at three times per week.

From these two scientific studies with a large group of subjects we expect to see a documented result of acupuncture for fibromyalgia some time may be in 2003.