Fibromyalgia

Most people experience pain on a daily basis. We may have the occasional ache from overdoing it at the gym or a twinge from bumping our shins on the bed, but most of the time we can ignore it, take an anti-inflammatory and go about our day. But when pain is widespread throughout your body and is accompanied by fatigue, changes in mood and sleep patterns, you may be dealing with a more serious physiological condition. Sound familiar? Call us to find out more about your symptoms and get a jump start to recovery.

What is Fibromyalgia?

Fibromyalgia is a term used to describe a group of symptoms. Typically, the symptoms include debilitating fatigue, tender areas of the body, changes in mood or muscle pain can be diagnosed with this condition. While it is unclear what causes fibromyalgia, some believe the pain is due to an overactive sympathetic nervous system, the part of the body that activates the fight or flight response. Many people first experience symptoms after a physically or emotionally traumatic event. Others begin having pain after bouts of chronic stress or depression, while some have symptoms that build over time. Fibromyalgia tends to affect women more than men and if you have a family member with the condition, you are more likely to experience it as well.

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How is Fibromyalgia treated?

Since it is not a disease but a cluster of symptoms, there is no known cure for fibromyalgia. Instead, medical practitioners focus on treating the symptoms with medication. Often, if the sympathetic nervous system can be regulated with medication, the pain subsides. Doctors typically prescribe a combination of pain medications, antidepressants or anti-seizure medications to achieve this type of regulation and relieve symptoms. However, none of the typical treatments address the loss of function widespread pain often brings.

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The Physical Therapy Solution

Even though fibromyalgia cannot be cured, one of the most effective ways of managing your symptoms can be through physical therapy. Studies have shown that cardiovascular exercise together with postural strengthening activities not only relieve widespread pain, but also increase energy levels, improve sleep and elevate mood. Through the course of treatment, it is possible to balance the body’s ability to regulate nerve impulses, in turn alleviating your symptoms. Typically, physical therapy services will include four interrelated parts.

Cardiovascular Exercise

One of the best ways to alleviate widespread pain is through low-impact movement. This may include walking on a treadmill, water aerobics, or other exercises aimed at improving blood flow, reducing stress, and increasing cardiovascular fitness. Your physical therapist will prescribe an exercise program designed for your abilities.

Muscle Strengthening & Range of Motion

When you are in pain, your natural tendency is to guard the area, or limit its movement out of fear of causing pain. This limited range of motion can weaken important muscle structures that further limit your ability to move and increase your pain levels. This vicious cycle can only be broken by working to strengthen weakened muscles and return range of motion to the area you have been guarding. But, how do you do that when you are in pain?

Pain Relieving Modalities

Our physical therapists have a host of tools in their belt aimed at relieving pain without medication. These may include the use of ice, heat, trigger point therapy, stretching, massage, electrical stimulation, or other therapeutic tools that can help limit your pain and retrain your body. Together with targeted exercise and a cardiovascular training program, it is possible to retrain your body to send and receive accurate signals without triggering widespread pain.

Frequently Asked Questions About Fibromyalgia

Fibromyalgia affects how the nervous system processes sensory and pain signals. Researchers believe increased sensitivity within the nervous system contributes to widespread pain even when there is no ongoing tissue injury that fully explains the symptoms. This altered processing is sometimes called central sensitization.

Fibromyalgia can also cause fatigue, sleep problems, difficulty concentrating, and sensitivity to touch or activity. Symptoms can change from day to day and may be influenced by sleep, stress, illness, and physical activity. Understanding these factors is an important part of chronic pain management because it helps patients recognize that increased symptoms do not always mean that physical activity is causing damage.

Yes. Physical therapy with experts at Bay State Physical Therapy can help people with fibromyalgia gradually increase their ability to move, exercise, and complete everyday activities. Treatment typically focuses on building activity tolerance rather than trying to identify and treat one injured tissue because fibromyalgia involves changes in pain processing throughout the nervous system.

Your physical therapist may use gradually progressed aerobic exercise, strengthening, mobility work, and education about managing changes in symptoms. The starting level should reflect what you can currently tolerate. As your body adapts, the program can progress to help improve strength, endurance, and confidence with activity without repeatedly overwhelming your current capacity.

Yes. Regular exercise is one of the most consistently supported approaches for improving function in people with fibromyalgia. Aerobic activities such as walking or cycling and progressive strengthening can help improve physical capacity and may reduce pain and fatigue over time.

The amount of exercise matters. Starting with too much activity can temporarily increase symptoms and make it difficult to remain consistent. Your Bay State Physical Therapy physical therapist can help identify a manageable starting point and increase activity gradually. The goal is to develop a routine you can sustain rather than alternating between doing too much on better days and becoming inactive when symptoms increase.

Fibromyalgia symptoms often fluctuate. Poor sleep, emotional stress, illness, changes in physical activity, and other factors can influence how the nervous system processes pain and sensory information. A flare in symptoms does not necessarily mean that you have caused a new injury.

Learning to recognize these patterns can help you adjust activity without stopping movement altogether. Physical therapy for chronic pain may include pacing strategies that help you distribute activity more evenly throughout the day or week. Over time, consistent and appropriately progressed activity can help you build greater tolerance for everyday demands.

There is no single best exercise for everyone with fibromyalgia. Research supports aerobic exercise and progressive strengthening, and many people also benefit from mobility exercises. Walking, cycling, aquatic exercise, or resistance training may be appropriate depending on your interests and current abilities.

Consistency matters more than choosing one specific activity. Your physical therapist can help establish an intensity and duration that you can tolerate and gradually increase. Selecting activities you enjoy can also make it easier to maintain a regular exercise routine and use movement as part of long-term symptom management.

There is no standard recovery timeline because fibromyalgia is a chronic condition and symptoms vary considerably between people. Physical therapy focuses on developing skills and physical capacity that help you manage the condition over time rather than completing treatment by a specific date.

Your progress may include walking farther, tolerating exercise more consistently, completing daily activities with less fatigue, or returning to recreational activities. Your Bay State Physical Therapy physical therapist can adjust your program as your activity tolerance changes and help you develop an independent exercise plan that supports continued health and function.

Regardless of where you are on your journey, it is possible to have relief from your worst symptoms through our thorough treatment at Bay State Physical Therapy. Contact us today!