Fibromyalgia Treated with Acupuncture

Fibromyalgia is a pervasive condition with many distressful and limiting symptoms. Integrated care with a holistic approach that includes Chinese medicine has been very effective for many with fibromyalgia. Since there are clusters of symptoms in many systems that may seem unrelated, it is often hard to diagnose and difficult to treat with more traditional approaches.

The video below discusses the symptoms of fibromyalgia and its diagnosis.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkH8N_sZRuI

The Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ) assesses distress in daily life caused by symptoms of fibromyalgia. A facsimile is below. It illustrates the pervasive impact of the condition.

 

 

Using this questionnaire immediately after a course of treatment, 30 days later and then in a 7 month follow-up, researchers found that acupuncture significantly improved symptoms of fibromyalgia. Symptomatic improvement was not restricted to pain relief and was most significant for fatigue and anxiety (1).  

Other research has found that acupuncture treatment of fibromyalgia was associated with decreased pain levels and fewer positive tender points (2) as well as an improvement in quality of life based on the SF-36 questionnaire (3).  Sample questions from the SF-36 questionnaire are below:

You can find the entire questionnaire at https://www.shcdenver.com/Portals/902/web-content/files/JamesGenuario/JG-health%20questionnaire.pdf

Here is an acupuncture patient discussing her acupuncture treatment for fibromyalgia:

If you are in the Louisville area and are struggling with fibromyalgia, Jeffrey Russell, a practitioner of Chinese Medicine, can discuss the use of acupuncture and Chinese herbalism to improve your condition. He can be reached at his clinic, Abacus Chinese Medicine–Louisville Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine.