Our mind and muscles work hand in hand as their constant communication is a guiding force for the body’s daily movements and systematic functioning. Miscommunication between them can be detrimental to mental, physical and overall wellbeing. As with fibromyalgia, neuromuscular efficiency is impaired wherein painful sensations are amplified as chemicals cause the brain’s neurotransmitters to signal pain. In addition, pain receptors in the brain seem to record traumatic events to the body and therefore become more sensitive to pain signals, overreacting when experiencing these signals.

Symptoms experienced include chronic widespread pain, intense pain in response to pressure on certain body parts, fatigue, and poor sleep, according to the American College of Rheumatology (ACR). Fibromyalgia has also been diagnosed far more in women than in men. There is inconclusive evidence that indicates that the disorder is hereditary but family lineages have certainly shared this as a common experience.

“Most people have never heard of fibromyalgia and many who have, including some medical doctors, don’t admit that this is a real disorder. . . [T]his is not the only case in which disorders that target mainly women raise scepticism in the medical community as to whether they’re real or not.”
– Eshel Ben Jacob, Physicist

FIBROMYALGIA AND WHITE MUSCLE DISEASE.
White muscle disease was first discovered in the 1950s by Oregon State University’s Dr. James Oldfield. WMD is the common term for nutritional myodegeneration found in livestock raised in selenium and Vitamin E deficient areas. The disease is found in all large animals, including sheep and goats. Selenium deficiency is attributed to soil quality whereas deficiency of Vitamin E is independent of soil type and instead a result of the quality of forage. Vitamin E is found in fresh legumes and pasture. Unfortunately, stored feeds are poor sources of Vitamin E as it can lose up to 50 percent of its Vitamin E in the space of a month.

New born lambs or fast-growing animals are more susceptible to the disease as they possibly have a higher requirement for selenium in their diet. WMD can affect both the skeletal and cardiac muscles. Symptoms of the skeletal muscles vary from mild stiffness to obvious pain upon walking or an inability to stand in younger animals. Symptoms such as poor concentration rates, abortions, stillbirths and miscarriages, retained placentas, or delivery of weak kids or lambs may be observed in deficient adult animals. Cardiac symptoms include breathing, frothy nasal discharge, fever, and elevated or irregular heart and respiratory rates. Both sets of symptoms can occur simultaneously.

Preventative measures can be implemented by supplementing selenium and Vitamin E in areas where soils are deficient. However, selenium supplementation is controlled by law. In contrast, it is clear that WMD is a result of mineral and vitamin deficiency in the diet of these animals. Could it then not be that there is an underlying deficiency of sorts in cases of fibromyalgia?

DIET IS IMPORTANT
When we fall ill the first thing we can immediately control and are advised to change is our diet. As with the animals suffering from WMD, those suffering from fibromyalgia are encouraged to supplement their diets where deficiency is prevalent. There is no specific diet established for fibromyalgia sufferers but it has been shown that vegetarian diets have helped, presumably, due to higher intake of fibre, beta carotene, Vitamin C, and essential minerals and antioxidants. Diets with high fibre and protein, and low carbohydrates, has been advised. It is known that oxidation is a catalyst in cellular breakdown, thus leading to irregular occurrences of inflammation within the body that can trigger pain. It is important to take preventative or corrective measures to assist in the treatment of fibromyalgia. In doing so, adding selenium and magnesium to your diet is vital in reducing inflammation and acid build up, and essentially helping the body to repair itself at a cellular level by feeding stem cells that which will only strengthen them.

WHAT ABOUT HYPERBARIC OXYGEN THERAPY?
Oxygen therapy has made remarkable strides in assisting fibromyalgia sufferers. A two-year, randomized, clinical trial which commenced in 2015 and concluded in 2017 released a short article of its findings when treating sufferers of fibromyalgia who had a history of childhood sexual abuse, as trauma is also a known trigger of fibromyalgia. FMS can be induced by traumatic brain injury and certain infections, such as a viral illness, Lyme disease or severe emotional stress such as childhood sexual abuse (CSA) (Sarzi-Puttini et al., 2011; Schmidt-Wilcke and Clauw, 2011).

Despite the fact that HBOT for neurological disorders is still considered controversial, recent evidence evaluated its effectiveness in treating FMS. The patients were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 treatment groups, treated with 60 HBOT sessions and a control crossover group received psychotherapy. After the control periods had been completed, the control crossover group underwent HBOT. Assessment of the clinical outcomes were done using FMS, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and quality of life questionnaires. Brain functioning and structure imaging were used for an objective assessment of the outcome.

“Findings: Following HBOT, there was a significant improvement in all FMS questionnaires (widespread pain index, Fibromyalgia symptoms severity scale, Fibromyalgia functional impairment), most domains of quality of life, PTSD symptoms and psychological distress. The same significant improvements were demonstrated in the control following crossover to HBOT. Following HBOT, brain SPECT imaging demonstrated significant increase in brain activity in the prefrontal cortex, orbital frontal cortex, and subgenual area (p < 0.05). Brain microstructure improvement was seen by MRI-DTI in the anterior thalamic radiation (p = 0.0001), left Insula (p = 0.001), and the right Thalamus (p = 0.001).”

In conclusion, there had been significant clinical improvement in brain functionality and brain microstructure in CSA related FMS patients who had undergone the HBOT induced clinical trial.

THOUGHTS ON OXYGEN THERAPY
The majority of FMS sufferers are women. Women with fibromyalgia were able to drastically reduce and even completely eliminate their use of pain medication after a treatment regimen in an hyperbaric oxygen chamber. A clinical trial that had been conducted at the Sagol Center for Hyperbaric Medicine and Research in Israel showed improvement in every one of the women who completed only two months of HBOT. Using brain scans, assessors were able to observe abnormal conditions in pain-related areas of the brain before and after treatment. This supports the theory that these areas may be responsible for the syndrome. Oxygen therapy has been found to induce neuroplasticity that leads to repair of chronically impaired brain functions and improved quality of life – even years after the assessed initial injury in cases of mild traumatic brain injury in patients.

FIBROMYALGIA AND OXYGEN PRODUCTS!
Oxygen therapy, though highly effective, can be expensive and requires a great deal of time and consistency in therapy. There are also known side effects that one needs to be mindful of when opting for hyperbaric oxygen therapy as a result of the pressure inside the chamber. In the same breath, oxygen tanks have side effects of their own. This is why OXYGEN PRODUCTS came about an affordable, safe, and non-invasive product free of any negative side effects. The contents of products contain only natural elements that are identifiable to the body and thus welcomed into the system. These vitamins and minerals assist the immune system in oxygenating the body and reducing inflammation, increasing mental health and stability and healing neuromuscular damage. Those suffering from FMS who are unable to afford or take the time for HBOT sessions or find alternative ways to oxygenate their bodies for repair of neuromuscular disorders like fibromyalgia have now found a SOLUTION!