FIBROMYALGIA

What is Fibromyalgia?

Fibromyalgia produces widespread pain, disturbed sleep, and exhaustion from head to toe. Fibromyalgia means pain in the muscles, ligaments, and tendons—the soft fibrous tissues of the body. Although the muscles hurt everywhere, they are not the only cause of the pain. Instead, the diffuse, body-wide symptoms are greatly magnified by malfunctions in the way the nervous system processes pain.

Regional muscle pain not related to arthritis or the nervous system also occurs in the majority of people with fibromyalgia.Patients describe this as firm knots in the belly of muscles, often causing restricted movement and radiating pain.⁵ These muscle nodules

are myofascial trigger points and we suspect that these painful areas overlap with the tender points used to diagnose fibromyalgia.
The symptoms of fibromyalgia are unpredictable and most patients are frustrated by their physical limitations and inability to make plans. You may feel as though you have to "push yourself" to get things done.⁷
Most patients with fibromyalgia say that their muscles feel like they have been pulled or overworked, and sometimes they twitch or cramp. Even the skin may feel badly sunburned. To help your family and friends relate to your fibromyalgia symptoms, have them think back to the last time they had a bad flu. Every muscle in their body shouted out in pain. In addition, they felt devoid of energy as though someone had unplugged their power supply.
Given that the symptoms may be similar to a viral flu, experts in the field of fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome believe that these two illnesses may be one and the same.Gulf War syndrome also overlaps with these two conditions.

Common symptoms:

Pain - Fibromyalgia pain has no boundaries. People describe the pain as deep muscular aching, throbbing, shooting, stabbing, or intense burning. Quite often, the pain and stiffness are worse in the morning, and muscle groups that are used repetitively may hurt more. In addition, the severity of regional pains (particularly those in the head, neck, shoulders and lower back) are a strong predictor of a person's overall pain rating. The muscles in these painful areas can feel tight, knotted and rope-like. Pressing on the firm, knotted region hurts and often causes the pain to shoot to other muscles when a myofascial trigger point is present.
Sleep Disorders - Patients report trouble falling asleep and more importantly staying asleep, but the unrefreshing quality is what makes the disorder much worse than insomnia. Repeat arousals prevent patients from reaching deep, restorative sleep.¹⁶ As a result, the night is spent in "quasi-sleep" and patients wake up feeling as though they have been run over by a Mack truck. An overnight sleep study will likely show repeat arousals with bursts of awake-like brain activity occurring throughout the night, but a specific sleep disorder may not be identified
Fatigue - This symptom can be one of the most incapacitating for people with fibromyalgia. Patients may feel as though concrete blocks weight down their arms and legs and their bodies may be so drained of energy that every task is an effort.
Memory and Concentration - Difficulty concentrating and retaining new information may seriously interfere with everyday mental tasks. This symptom is referred to as "fibro fog" and may hinder job opportunities. In particular, fibromyalgia patients have serious difficulty retaining new information if they are distracted.
Exercise Difficulties - Moderate intensity exercise activates a powerful pain-relieving system in healthy people, but it makes the pain of fibromyalgia worse. This is why initiating an exercise program may make you achy and tired. However, if you do not exercise on a regular basis, the performance of normal daily living activities will start to cause more pain. Rather than give in to the increased pain sensitivity related to exercise, patients are advised to do mild exercise in short intervals (such as five minutes at a time) to keep the muscles fit while not over-taxing them. A study in Sweden revealed that half of the fibromyalgia patients found it impossible or difficult to climb stairs and a majority of patients could not run. Just standing for five minutes was extremely taxing to one-fourth of the patients.¹⁹
Irritable Bowel Syndrome - Constipation, diarrhea, frequent abdominal pain and bloating, abdominal gas, and nausea represent symptoms commonly found in roughly 40 to 70 percent of fibromyalgia patients.
Chronic Headaches - Recurrent migraine or tension headaches are experienced by 50 to 70 percent of fibromyalgia patients. Most headaches are rated as severe, occur at least two times per week, and often have a migraine component. Referred pain from myofascial trigger points in the shoulder, neck, and head muscles are suspected to be responsible for most tension-type headache and also play a role in migraines.
Jaw Pain - Temporomandibular joint dysfunction causes tremendous jaw-related face and head pain and affects one-quarter of fibromyalgia patients. Typically, the problems are related to the muscles and ligaments surrounding the jaw joint and not necessarily the joint itself.²³
Other Common Symptoms - Non-cardiac chest pain, acid reflux, irregular heart beat or palpitations, shortness of breath, numbness and tingling sensations, the feeling of swollen extremities, chemical sensitivities, nasal congestion, premenstrual syndrome and painful periods, irritable bladder, interstitial cystitis, vulvodynia (vulvar pain), difficulty focusing eyes, dry or burning eyes and mouth, dizziness or feeling faint, profuse sweating, muscle weakness and balance issues can occur.^24,25,26 Fibromyalgia patients are often sensitive to odors, loud noises, bright lights, some foods, and often the medications that they are prescribed.
Aggravating Factors - Changes in weather, cold or drafty environments, hormonal fluctuations (premenstrual and menopausal states), stress, depression, anxiety, and over-exertion can all contribute to fibromyalgia symptom flare-ups.

Cervical & Lumbar Spondylosis

Spondylosis
A very common disorder of the spine is spondylosis. It is primarily a condition of age. The condition reduces mobility of the intervertebral joints and there is a consequent development of abnormal bone around the vertebrae. What happens is that projections called osteophytes appear from the vertebral margins. Osteophytes are small, bony spurs and they cause the bone to become denser and the disks to degenerate. The degenerated disk extrudes both forward and backward. When the extrusion is backward, the spinal canal is narrowed.

Cervical Spondylosis:-

Cervical Spondylosis is also known as Cervical Osteoarthritis. Cervical Spondylosis is characterized by chronic degeneration of the bones of the neck and the vertebrae discs. Degeneration of the facet joints, spinal nerves and spinal cord also causes Cervical Spondylosis.
It is observed that age, sports injuries and accidents are the most common causes that lead to wear and tear of bones around the neck region. Cervical Spondylosis is known to affect people above 40 years of age. Men are susceptible to Cervical Spondylosis at an earlier age as compared to women.

Symptoms:-

The common symptoms associated with Cervical Spondylosis are:

• Severe pain in the neck region
• Neck pain leads to pain in shoulders and arms
• Loss of sensation in neck, shoulders, arms and fingers
• Instability
• Lack of bowel or bladder control

If Cervical Spondylosis is left untreated it can cause severe damage to the spinal cord and spinal nerves which can impair mobility and the ability to function normally.

 
Lumbar Spondylosis and Cervical Spondylosis:-
 
When there is a marked narrowing of the canal over a few segments and when the bone, disk and the ligaments protrude into it, the condition is called lumbar spinal stenosis. Here the nerve roots of the cauda equina are compressed. When the misalignment of the vertebrae causes stretching of the joint capsules at sites where the vertebrae are adjacent, there is pain.
A more common occurrence in the event of backward protrusion of an intervertebral disk is distortion of the local ligaments. In this case, the emerging nerve root is compressed and there results pain, weakness and numbness in the area.

       Spondylosis usually affects men more than women. Usually, the lumbar and cervical spine are more frequently affected than the thoracic spine, because the curvature of the latter prevents spondylosis from impinging on the spinal cord. Another important point is that lumbar and cervical spondylosis frequently occur simultaneously in the same individual. The onset of the symptoms is generally very slow and gradual. However, if ignored, spondylosis may lead to disabling tingling pain, limited motion, and partial paralysis in affected areas of the body.

Spondylolisthesis and other conditions
Another condition that can affect the spine is spondylolisthesis. It is a condition where there is a slipping forward of one vertebra onto another. It is usually a congenital deformity or it may be caused due to trauma.
Besides spondylosis and spodylolisthesis, infections, tumors and bone diseases may also cause vertebral disorders, causing pain and signs of damage to the roots and perhaps to the cord as well. Direct infections of the spinal cord are very rare. Tumors are usually secondary to such malignancies as lymphomas or carcinomas of the breast, prostate or kidney. Benign or non-cancerous tumors may also occur.

 

Ankylosing Spondylitis

What is ankylosing spondylitis?

Ankylosing spondylitis is a form of chronic inflammation of the spine and the sacroiliac joints. The sacroiliac joints are located in the low back where the sacrum (the bone directly above the tailbone) meets the iliac bones (bones on either side of the upper buttocks). Chronic inflammation in these areas causes pain and stiffness in and around the spine. Over time, chronic spinal inflammation (spondylitis) can lead to a complete cementing together (fusion) of the vertebrae, a process referred to as ankylosis. Ankylosis leads to loss of mobility of the spine.
Ankylosing spondylitis is also a systemic disease, meaning it can affect other tissues throughout the body. Accordingly, it can cause inflammation in or injury to other joints away from the spine, as well as to other organs, such as the eyes, heart, lungs, and kidneys. Ankylosing spondylitis shares many features with several other arthritis conditions, such as psoriatic arthritis, reactive arthritis, and arthritis associated with Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. Each of these arthritic conditions can cause disease and inflammation in the spine, other joints, eyes, skin, mouth, and various organs. In view of their similarities and tendency to cause inflammation of the spine, these conditions are collectively referred to as "spondyloarthropathies." Ankylosing spondylitis is considered one of the many rheumatic diseases because it can cause symptoms involving muscles and joints.
Ankylosing spondylitis is two to three times more common in males than in females. In women, joints away from the spine are more frequently affected than in men. Ankylosing spondylitis affects all age groups, including children. The most common age of onset of symptoms is in the second and third decades of life.

HOW DO YOU KNOW IF YOU HAVE ANKYLOSING SPONDYLITIS?                                         Seventy-five percent of patients with ankylosing spondylitis most commonly complain of lower back pain. 

Although lower back pain is a common complaint overall and can be caused by many other factors, back painassociated with ankylosing spondylitis is unique in part because of the following features:

-       Disease starts in early adulthood, often before 40 years of age.

-       Gradual onset of symptoms rather than a history of sudden onset such as after an injury

-       Symptoms persist for three months or longer.

-       Pain is worse after rest or prolonged sitting, such as pain upon waking in the morning.

-       Pain improves with activity and exercise. 

-       Rib cage pain; especially while taking a deep breath or coughing.

-       Stiffness or decreased movement of the back and neck. Ordinary tasks such as putting on sock and shoes may become difficult and painful. AS is an inflammatory process that involves other  areas of the body in addition to bones, including the eyes and spinal cord. 

Eyes — Uveitis, or inflammation of part of the eye, occurs in 25-40% of patients with AS. Symptoms of uveitis include sudden onset of severe eye pain, blurring of vision and difficulty tolerating bright light.  Uveitis requires immediate medical attention and treatment.

Spinal Cord — Vertebrae, or bones of the spine, serve as the structural support to protect the spinal cord and nerves, and they provide motion, and function to the skeleton.  Patients with AS often develop fused vertebral spines. 

Fused vertebral bones increase the chance of damaging the bones and place-increased stress on surrounding structures such as ligaments, tendons, and muscles.  A fused spine creates not only pain but loss of motion, and can become more brittle with mechanical stresses.  If vertebrae become fractured and dislodge, there is an increased risk of damage from impingement of surrounding spinal cord structures and nerves.  Damage to the spinal cord, roots and nerves cause symptoms such as changes in sensation, strength and movement below the level of injury.  For example, decreased leg strength with numbness and tingling in a patient complaining of back pain may be a sign of spinal nerve compromise.  If symptoms such as these occur, immediate medical attention should be sought.  Other symptoms that should prompt emergent medical attention include saddle area numbness and/or new changes in bowel and bladder habits (e.g. constipation, loss of continence).

RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS

A joint is where two bones meet to allow movement of body parts. Arthritis means joint inflammation. The joint inflammation of rheumatoid arthritis causes swelling, pain, stiffness, and redness in the joints.

Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease that causes chronic inflammation of the joints. The inflammation of rheumatoid disease can also occur in tissues around the joints, such as the tendons, ligaments, muscles as well as in other organs in the body. Autoimmune diseases are illnesses that occur when the body's tissues are mistakenly attacked by their own immune system. The immune system encloses a complex organization of cells and antibodies designed normally to "seek and destroy" invaders of the body, particularly infections. Patients with autoimmune diseases have antibodies in their blood that target their own body tissues, where they can be associated with inflammation. Because it can affect multiple other organs of the body, rheumatoid arthritis is referred to as a systemic illness and is sometimes called rheumatoid disease.
While rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic illness, meaning it can last for years, patients may experience long periods without symptoms. However, rheumatoid arthritis is typically a progressive illness that has the potential to cause joint destruction and functional disability.

In some people with rheumatoid arthritis, chronic inflammation leads to the destruction of the cartilage, bone, and ligaments, causing deformity of the joints. Damage to the joints can occur early in the disease and be progressive. Rheumatoid arthritis is a common rheumatic disease, affecting approximately 1.3 billion people in India according to current research. The disease is three times more common in women as in men

Latest Invention in Cartilage Re-Growth and Pain Management !!

After the successful invention of Phyto-Medicines by Dr.A.K.Ganguly, Pain Management and Biotechnology companies will require to thrive in for new advancements for the era of personalized medicine to recover and re-grow damage parts in our body. This revolutionary invention by a renowned doctor has opened doors for billions to live a pain free life for the first time in their life.

        

      The overall environment of healthcare's move toward a more individualized approach has begun to help, but more investment in biotechnology would create a more competitive arena and complement the rapid advances for the industry. As per a renowned health care company called AG Herbs Pte. Ltd, Singapore who are the founder of Phyto-Medicines with the help of which you can re-grow your cartilages, tissues and strengthen your muscles and mobility (e.g: Fibromyalgia, Arthritis, Slip-Disc, Varicose Vein, etc.). The company runs its patented medical therapy centers under the name of OPTM Health Care, New York (USA) which has been operating and has successfully treated Millions of people for the past 30 years. According to the Chairman & CEO of the company Dr.A.K.Ganguly, they can treat diseases starting from Arthritis to Varicose Veins without operation, oral medicines, injections, tractions or any other painful methods and since it’s a permanent solution, you can see the changes over an X-Ray or MRI report during the recovery phase, before and after treatment.

     For the 840 million people who are suffering from osteoarthritis, slip-disc, varicose-vein, arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, sinus, etc. the current treatment available in the market consists of an increasingly strong regimen of pain medication, operation, injections and other conservative treatments like physiotherapy, acupuncture, etc. which has no permanent cure thus the improvement can’t be seen or shown over a medical report like X-Ray and MRI.

   For the first time you can now take advantage of these Phyto-Therapeutic Procedure which can help you to recover from not only the above mentioned disease but also from many others and all through by just applying these Medicines externally over your skin.(Tropical Application Only)

   

  Steroids, pain-killer, injections, operations, etc. are a risky and prolong methods, without much success but only with negative side-effects. When opting for either of the above mentioned process the doctors gets rid of nerves, tissues, muscles, etc which causes the pain or the medication blocks the pain signal to reach the brain, thus resulting in a permanent damage to the body without healing the cause of the pain. In due time the pain starts spreading because the missing nerves, tissues and muscles are not being able to carry the digested food to the other parts of the body which in due time make the part weak, painful, immobile and slowly the surrounding area starts drying off too due to lack of food. Once a patient takes any of the above mentioned steps or process, the pain starts spreading through-out the whole body slowly and steadily.

      Ag Herbs has created a niche market for itself with its patented medicines and therapeutic methods which can now heal and make you feel better. These Phyto-Medicines, uses live enzymes of plant cells, which when applied externally on the skin, enter through the pores of the skin and is carried with the help of bloody to the affected areas. Once the human cell and plant cell come in contact with each other they share the properties of either re-growing or healing a damage part in our body naturally. These products have no chemicals or preservatives and thus are 100% safe to be used even on a new born baby to a pregnant women and also works for ages above 90 years. It is a unique invention of its type has the company has already been able to heal millions through-out the world. This is the only medication available in the market which can help you get rid of your pain for ever.

         

       In 2010, about 500,000 knee replacements were performed. According to the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP), this number will rise to about 3.5 million by 2030. Given that the growing older population wants to remain mobile later in life, the demand for joint replacements will only grow with it. As per Dr.A.K.Ganguly "These procedures can be very painful and maximum number of time un-successful-- with long recovery periods, loads off side effects, etc. -- so there's substantial opportunity there". Ag Herbs along with OPTM Health Care has a burgeoning number of new products and protocols which are expected to enter the market over the next few years, due in part to important strategic alliances within the industry that have allowed for their development and expansion of the company.