There’s a lot to love and do in your daily life. Going to your child’s
dance recital. Running a 5K with a friend. Pushing ahead on an exciting
project at work. But fibromyalgia slows you down, causing pain
and fatigue, potentially leaving you too tired to do all you want to do.
Learn what causes fibromyalgia, its symptoms, and how to find relief.
Fibromyalgia is a condition that causes widespread, long-lasting pain throughout your body. Many people describe it as a deep, constant ache in their muscles, tender spots that hurt to the touch, or a heavy, flu-like soreness even when they are not sick. Your central nervous system, including your brain and spinal cord, becomes more sensitive over time, which changes the way you process both painful and non-painful signals. That can make everyday sensations, such as a light hug, sitting at a desk, or changes in temperature, feel uncomfortable or even painful.
Along with pain, you may notice unrefreshing sleep, significant fatigue, morning stiffness, headaches, or trouble concentrating and remembering details, often called brain fog.
There is no single cure for fibromyalgia, but there are ways to manage symptoms. If you recognize these patterns, talking with your doctor or chiropractor is an important first step toward building a plan that supports your daily life and goals.
The discomfort you feel early on is probably irregular, only acting up in a few areas of your body. It could be a persistent, dull ache in your neck and shoulders after a hard workday, or maybe discomfort in your lower back. You basically feel wiped out.
At this stage you feel like something is obviously wrong; you may even be experiencing “fibro fog,” which is a mental cloudiness that makes it difficult to concentrate. There’s discomfort in your upper and lower body, you’re experiencing chronic fatigue, and your quality of sleep is poor.
Symptoms start to get in the way of your daily life, with your discomfort intensifying as you potentially become more sensitive to things that normally wouldn’t hurt. Loud noise, temperature changes or even a light touch all could cause pain, and as a result sleep is severely affected, headaches and anxiety may be prevalent, and depression may set in.
This stage is the most painful, significantly limiting your ability to function. A combination of cognitive issues, overwhelming exhaustion and intense discomfort are likely constant, truly limiting your ability to live your life.
When it comes to fibromyalgia, your family's history matters because you may have inherited certain genetic traits that may make you more susceptible. These genetic factors may influence how your central nervous system creates and processes pain signals, possibly contributing to subtle imbalance in brain chemicals like serotonin and dopamine. Genetics alone won't guarantee you develop it, but in combination with other common triggers, your risk may increase.
Viral illnesses, such as a severe case of the flu or other infections, may trigger fibromyalgia symptoms in some people. When your body fights off an infection, your immune system and nervous system work closely together. In certain cases, that response may linger even after the infection clears, leading to changes in how your central nervous system processes pain and fatigue. Over time, that shift may contribute to ongoing muscle aches, tenderness, and low energy that feel very different from a typical short-term illness.
Sometimes fibromyalgia appears after a physical or emotional trauma, such as an injury, surgery, car accident, extreme psychological stress, or PTSD. Events like these can push your nervous system into a prolonged “high alert” state. Over time, that heightened state may change the way your brain and spinal cord process pain, a pattern often called central sensitization. In this state, your nervous system becomes more sensitive, so even mild pressure, everyday movement, or emotional stress can feel more intense or painful than it once did.
Fibromyalgia is strongly linked to a change in your nervous system called central sensitization. In central sensitization, your brain and spinal cord become more sensitive to pain signals and sometimes even interpret normal sensations as painful. This heightened sensitivity can help explain why pain feels widespread, long lasting, and often out of proportion to what you are doing. Central sensitization may also play a role in several overlapping conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, osteoarthritis, migraines, and other chronic pain or fatigue syndromes, which is why these conditions often occur together.
1.78% of the general population have been diagnosed with fibromyalgia1
2.41% of 50-59 year olds have been diagnosed with fibromyalgia2
2.25X more likely for women to be diagnosed with fibromyalgia than men2
8.5% more likely for someone to experience fibromyalgia if an immediate family member has had it3
Women are much more likely than men to get diagnosed with fibromyalgia. The reason isn’t known for sure, but doctors believe it may be a mix of hormonal fluctuations, genetic predispositions to pain processing, and differences in how pain is felt and reported.
Children and the elderly can be diagnosed with fibromyalgia, but it’s really people between the ages of 35 and 55 that are most often diagnosed. Why? Because that’s usually the age where past injuries and physical strain start to catch up with you, while at the same time you may be experiencing stressful or emotional life events. That all comes together to make fibromyalgia more common.
If you have a close relative who has had fibromyalgia, your chances of having it are higher than those who don’t. Other factors play in as well, but if someone in your immediate or extended family has had fibromyalgia, tell your doctor or chiropractor so they can help you keep an eye out for it.
If you’re already dealing with other long-term health issues or conditions, you have a greater chance of developing fibromyalgia. Part of this is because those other conditions may share the same root cause as fibromyalgia, such as central sensitization.
Whether physical or psychological, these types of shock to your system make it more likely for your body to experience central sensitization. That’s when your nervous system becomes more sensitive to pain and is a key part of how fibromyalgia develops.
Fibromyalgia affects your whole body and your whole way of life. It’s more than physical pain, causing other issues that affect your ability to live your life to the fullest.
Fibromyalgia may feel like a lot to manage, but there is a pathway to living a full, happy life with it. With the right care, you can get back to doing the things you love.
Fibromyalgia is usually managed with a combination of tools, including prescription or over the counter medications, gentle exercise, physical therapy, stress management, and sleep support. If you are looking for support beyond medication, chiropractic care may give you another way to manage symptoms, such as pain, stiffness, and changes in mobility that come with fibromyalgia.
Licensed chiropractors like ours deliver a gentle, noninvasive therapy known as a chiropractic adjustment. Adjustments aim to reduce restrictions and misalignments in the joints, which may help decrease inflammation, improve mobility, and support healthier function in your nervous system. For some people living with fibromyalgia, this type of care can be a helpful part of a broader plan to manage symptoms and support daily function.
Fibromyalgia amplifies a wide variety of pains and discomforts that chiropractic care may be able to help relieve, including:
There are many potential health benefits of chiropractic care for knee pain, including:
Walk in for quality, affordable care that fits your schedule. Enjoy hassle-free visits and same-day relief.
There’s no known cure for fibromyalgia but you can absolutely manage symptoms and improve your daily life. Treatments may include licensed chiropractic care, gentle exercise, cognitive behavioral therapy and sometimes medication prescribed or recommended by your doctor.
The seven common signs of fibromyalgia include: widespread chronic pain on both sides of the body, deep fatigue that does not match your activity level, poor or unrefreshing sleep, “fibro fog” or trouble concentrating and remembering, heightened sensitivity to touch, temperature, or sound, daily muscle aches and stiffness, and related symptoms such as headaches, digestive issues, or mood changes. If you notice several of these together for more than a few months, it is important to talk with a healthcare provider for a proper evaluation.
Living with fibromyalgia often leads to you becoming an expert at monitoring and caring for your own body. Learning to manage pain and discomfort, knowing when to seek care, and also staying consistent with care are all an important part of daily life. The goal of treatment, especially with chiropractic care, is to reduce flare-ups, manage chronic discomfort, and increase your quality of life.
No, fibromyalgia isn’t classified as an autoimmune disease by major medical organizations. It’s widely considered to be a central sensitization syndrome or a central pain disorder.
There is no single blood test or X ray that can confirm fibromyalgia. Instead, most doctors use published criteria that look for widespread pain in several areas of your body on both sides and both above and below your waist for at least three months, along with other symptoms such as fatigue, unrefreshing sleep, and “fibro fog.” They will usually review your medical and family history, ask how many areas of your body tend to hurt and how intense your symptoms feel, do a physical exam, and order basic lab tests or imaging to rule out other conditions that could explain your symptoms.
For many people, the worst symptom of fibromyalgia is constant, widespread pain that can feel deep, aching, burning, or tender to the touch and may flare with stress, activity, or changes in weather. Right behind that is the overwhelming fatigue that makes even simple tasks, like getting dressed or running a quick errand, feel exhausting. On top of the physical symptoms, many also struggle with “fibro fog,” mood changes, and emotional distress that come from living with unpredictable pain, which can make it hard to feel like yourself or keep up with daily life the way you want to.
In many cases, fibromyalgia involves constant physical sensations like aching, burning, throbbing, and stiffness that affect many areas of your body at once. Your muscles may feel sore or bruised, and even light pressure, a hug, or the weight of clothing can be uncomfortable. The pain can move around, feel worse in the morning or at the end of the day, and often flares with stress, activity, or changes in weather.
Beyond pain, fibromyalgia can feel physically and mentally exhausting. Many people describe a heavy, worn out feeling that does not match what they did that day, along with extreme fatigue that makes simple tasks feel difficult. You may also notice “fibro fog,” where it is harder to think clearly, find words, or remember details. Over time, living with unpredictable pain, poor sleep, and low energy can take an emotional toll, making it harder to feel like yourself or keep up with the life you want to live.
Family genetics and family history may increase your chances of being diagnosed with fibromyalgia, but it’s not strictly hereditary. Even with a genetic predisposition, it generally needs an infection, emotional trauma, or physical trauma to occur.
Fibromyalgia can be a disabling condition, but a diagnosis doesn’t guarantee disability benefits. Medical documentation and proof that it functionally limits you are key to proving the condition is a true disability for you. As always, talk with your doctor.
Richard, a former triathlete from Dallas, has always lived life on the go. Triathlons, cycling, swimming… go time is all the time. Then fibromyalgia changed his way of life. He was in constant pain and couldn’t do anything active, until he found The Joint Chiropractic. With their help, he’s learned to manage his condition, and it’s go-time again.
1 Heidari, F., Afshari, M., & Moosazadeh, M. (2017). Prevalence of fibromyalgia in general population and patients, a systematic review and meta-analysis. Rheumatology International, 37(9), 1527–1539. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00296-017-3725-2
2 Walitt, B., Nahin, R. L., Katz, R. S., Bergman, M. J., & Wolfe, F. (2015). The prevalence and characteristics of fibromyalgia in the 2012 national health interview survey. PLOS ONE, 10(9). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0138024
3 Arnold LM, et al. Arthritis Rheum 50(3):944-952, 2004. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15022338/
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