Pain in the whole body

Tens of millions of people around the world suffer from periodic or chronic pain throughout the body, which lasts more than six months. Pain can be mild or painful, episodic or permanent, simply discomforting or completely disabling. With chronic pain throughout the body, pain signals remain active for the nervous system for weeks, months, or even years. It can cause both physical and emotional damage to a person.

[1], [2], [3], [4], [5]

Sources of pain throughout the body

The most common sources of pain are associated with headaches, joint pain, pain from injuries and back pain. Other types of periodic or chronic pain throughout the body include tendonitis, headache, carpal tunnel syndrome, and pain affecting specific parts of the body, such as the shoulders, pelvis and neck. Generalized muscle or nerve pain can also develop into a chronic condition.

Pain in the entire body can begin with an initial injury / injury or infection, or a cold disease. However, some people suffer from chronic pain in the absence of any past injuries or physical damage to the body.

With emotional trauma, chronic pain throughout the body can become much stronger. Anxiety, stress, depression, anger, fatigue complexly interact with chronic pain throughout the body and can reduce the effects of painkillers. In addition, negative feelings can increase the level of substances that enhance the sensation of pain, causing a closed cycle of pain in humans. The immune system, which still holds the defenses, may give up: there is strong evidence that unbearable pain can suppress the work of the immune system.

The mind-body is both associated with pain, and effective treatment requires the solution of both psychological and physical aspects.

What are the attendant symptoms of chronic pain throughout the body?

1. From moderate to severe pain in all parts of the body that does not subside
2. Pain, which can be described as shooting, drawing, and also searing
3. Feeling of discomfort, pain, heaviness in muscles
4. Pain in the whole body is not a symptom of the fact that there is only one source of the problem. Other problems associated with pain include such conditions:
5. Fatigue
6. Insomnia
7. Refusal of activity or, on the contrary, the person does not find time for rest
8. Weakening of the immune system
9. Changes in mood, including hopelessness, fear, depression, irritability, anxiety, stress
10. Injuries
11. Infectious diseases
12. Diseases of internal organs

Fibromyalgia

Fibromyalgia is the most common disease of the musculoskeletal system, in a state following osteoarthritis. Nevertheless, this disease is not easy to diagnose. Its characteristics include a wide range of pain throughout the body: muscle and joint pain, fatigue, weakness, and other symptoms. Fibromyalgia can lead to depression and social isolation and even job loss.

[6], [7], [8], [9]

What is fibromyalgia syndrome?

A syndrome is a combination of symptoms. When they exist all in aggregate, they imply the presence of specific diseases or the likelihood of developing an already existing one disease. In the syndrome of fibromyalgia, in the aggregate, the following symptoms usually occur:

• anxiety or depression
• pain threshold reduction
• paralyzing sensations in the limbs and a feeling of fatigue
• a wide range of pain - it hurts the whole body

Risk groups

More than 12 million people suffer from fibromyalgia only in the United States. Most of them are women, starting at the age of 25 to 60 years. Women are 10 times more likely to get pains in the whole body than men.

What is the localization and nature of pain throughout the body?

Pain in the whole body can cause pain in the muscles, bones, joints. You may have symptoms of severe fatigue with this. Specific painful points on the body can be painful to the touch. You can see on the body swelling, violations at a deep level or restless sleep, as well as mood swings and depression.

Your muscles can feel as if they were overworked and you pulled them.

Some patients (especially fibromyalgia) suffer from pain around the joints of the neck, shoulders, back and thighs. It becomes difficult for them even to sleep, not to mention doing physical exercises.

Pain in the whole body also includes:

• stomach ache
• anxiety and depression
• chronic headaches
• difficulties with maintaining sleep or restless sleep
• dry mouth, nose, and eyes
• fatigue
• increased sensitivity to cold and / or heat
• inability to concentrate
• urinary incontinence
• irritable bowel syndrome
• numbness or tingling in the fingers and toes

Pain in the whole body can cause signs and feelings similar to osteoarthritis, bursitis and tendonitis. Some experts include him in this group of arthritis and related disorders.

Diagnosis of pain throughout the body

There are no specific laboratory tests for the diagnosis of pain throughout the body, in particular, difficult to diagnose fibromyalgia. To make an accurate diagnosis, your doctor will rely on a comprehensive medical examination and your medical history.

In order to identify serious diseases that cause pain in the body, the doctor can do some specific blood tests. For example, a complete blood test. The doctor can also recommend checking the level of glucose, a low level of it can create problems similar to those caused by poor thyroid function.

Reduced activity of the thyroid gland (hypothyroidism) can cause pain throughout the body. Thyroid dysfunction causes fatigue, muscle pain, weakness, depression.

Other laboratory tests may include rheumatoid factor (RF), erythrocyte (red blood cell) level, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), prolactin hormone level, calcium level and vitamin D level.

The doctor can also determine if your symptoms are similar to fibromyalgia syndrome, set out in medical criteria. These criteria include a wide range of pains throughout the body that last at least three months.

A wide spectrum refers to pain that occurs both in the right and left side of the body, both above and below the waist, and in the chest, neck, and in the middle or lower back. Pain criteria also include the presence of sick points in different parts of the body.

The doctor assesses the severity of your condition, associated with symptoms such as fatigue, sleep disturbance and mood swings. This will help to measure the impact of pain on your physical and emotional functions, as well as on the general state of your health, related to the quality of life.

[10], [11], [12]

Is there a standard for treating pain throughout the body?

No, there is no such standard. And there is no cure that would solve all your problems at once. But a wide range of traditional and alternative therapies can be effective if you determine the source of the disease. Treatment programs can include a combination of drugs, exercises to strengthen different parts of the body and aerobic exercise.

How is fatigue treated in the presence of pain?

Along with deep muscular pain and painful points, fatigue is a key symptom of pain throughout the body, in particular, fibromyalgia, and it can seem an insurmountable barrier. You not only feel exhausted and weak, but the bed rest does not seem to be very helpful. Many people with body aches and fatigue can sleep from eight to 10 hours at night, and feel as if they did not sleep at all.

Fatigue combined with pain throughout the body often coincides with the mood of anxiety, anxiety or depression. Some people, along with a sense of fatigue, especially suffer from pain around the joints of the neck, shoulders, back and thigh. This condition makes falling asleep even more difficult aggravates the feeling of drowsiness and fatigue.

Experts believe that there is a similarity between pain throughout the body and chronic fatigue syndrome. Both these states, in the first place, are characterized by constant, exhausting fatigue. Often people who experience pain throughout the body describe a sense of fatigue as "brain fatigue". They tell doctors about the complete loss of energy and difficulties with concentration of attention.

Some medications can help alleviate fatigue associated with pain. In addition, exercise is one of the most effective strategies to help alleviate fatigue, minimize pain, improve sleep quality and mood.

How can physical exercises relieve the symptoms of pain?

Numerous studies show that exercise is one of the most important ways to treat pain throughout the body associated with fatigue or pain that occurs with fibromyalgia. Many people avoid exercise because they fear that pain in the whole body will only increase. However, with fatigue and lethargy, physical exertions help relieve pain and immobility of the muscles, and even help with depression, which often comes with pain.

Regular exercise increases the body's production of endorphins, natural pain killers, which also raises the mood. Start slowly and gradually increase the duration and intensity of the exercises, and soon you will enjoy the benefits of training that will make the pain controlled.

Antidepressants in the treatment of pain

Your doctor may prescribe antidepressants, such as Prozac, Paxil or Zoloft. These drugs can help relieve feelings of depression, remove sleep disorders and pain. Recently, researchers have found that antiepileptic drugs are promising for the treatment of pain, in particular, in fibromyalgia, which is difficult to treat.

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, including COX-2 inhibitors, have not been recognized as effective for the treatment of muscle pain. They usually do not work in the long run and can lead to health problems.

Antidepressants have been used for many years to help alleviate the symptoms of pain in different parts of the body and are often the first step to treatment. Antidepressants are not only used to help reduce the emotional consequences of this condition, but they relieve the symptoms of fibromyalgia, including pain, fatigue, depression and sleep problems. Both early and newer antidepressants are used to treat various types of pain.

[13], [14], [15], [16]

Steroids

Steroids (such as prednisone) are used to treat inflammations associated with rheumatic conditions. They very rarely can remove pain symptoms. However, steroid injections directly into the muscles (trigger points) can sometimes be used to remove pain due to muscle spasms, when other treatments have proved ineffective.

In addition to therapy, other treatments, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy, can help develop a sense of self-control, as well as control over pain.

Alternative methods of treating pain throughout the body

Alternative therapies, although they are not well-tested, can help manage the symptoms of pain, depending on the cause that caused the pain. For example, therapeutic massage breaks muscles and soft tissues of the body and helps relieve deep muscle pain. It also helps to relieve pain at certain points, to remove muscle spasms, to relieve their tension. Similarly, a massage that works in a wider range of muscles allows them to stretch slightly, soften, lengthen and activate the formation of connective tissue to alleviate discomfort in pain.

Physicians recommend moderately intense aerobic exercise at least two or three times a week. They are also combined with methods such as hypnosis, acupuncture, therapeutic massage, manual therapy - manipulations to relieve pain.

Along with alternative therapies, it is important to find time every day to relax and unwind. Relaxation techniques such as deep muscle relaxation or breathing exercises can help reduce stress, which can cause symptoms of pain throughout the body. Sleep for at least 8 hours in a row is very important that the body is restored during sleep.

Pain can be so debilitating that you may wonder about the effectiveness of alternative therapies. Some people with chronic pain should know about alternative therapies following

• Acupuncture. Some studies have shown that acupuncture can change the chemistry of the brain and increase tolerance to pain
• Chiropractic. Chiropractic can increase the level of perception of pain, reduce back pain, and increase the ranges of movement of the cervical and lumbar joints.
• Deep tissue massage. It can stimulate blood circulation and reduce chronic pain of muscle tension.
• Neuromuscular massage. Neuromuscular massage combines the basic principles of ancient Eastern therapy, such as acupressure and shiatsu, with specific effects on deep muscle tissue. This can help reduce chronic muscle or myofascial pain (pain in the deep tissues).
• Method of biological feedback. According to the National Institute of Health, biofeedback helps people control stress and relieves chronic pain.
• Meditation. Studies show that when meditating the brain produces waves of serenity and happiness that help alleviate pain when worried.

When it comes to treating chronic pain throughout the body, you can use both medications and alternative body protection products that help reduce pain and improve sleep. There is no single approach that best heals the pain in the whole body. A combination of lifestyle strategies, drug selection, and alternative therapies on the recommendation of a doctor is used.

[17], [18], [19]

What are the prospects for people with pain all over the body?

Like all others, people with pain throughout the body often experience good and bad days. With proper treatment and proper diagnosis of the source of pain, most people improve their health. People who continue to be active, socially and physically, despite their pain, ultimately make the quality of their lives better.