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Fibromyalgia Physiotherapy

Fibromyalgia refers to a very painful condition where patients suffer from pain within the muscles and connective tissues.

Patients often report that their pain is generalized (global), long term (chronic) and have an increased pain experience to normal sensations especially pressure. Eg a regular touch on a patient with fibromyalgia may lead to a over-bearing and overwhelming pain experience.

Symptoms may not only be pain per se, but also comes often with severe:

• tiredness/fatigability (sometimes misdiagnosed as chronic fatigue syndrome)
  
• inability/difficulty sleeping
• joint/muscle tightness
• very wary of surroundings and fear of being touched/touching things

Some patients report unusual experiences such as

• difficulty drinking
• difficulty swallowing foods
• difficulity with bladder movements
• difficulty with bowel movements
• general sense of numbness/tingling all over
  

Unfortunately, fibromyalgia is often associated with psychiatric conditions such as

• clinical depression
• clinical post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSD)

Every patient experiences fibromyalgia differently (in their own ways), and not all experience the same symptoms nor the same severity or mix. About 3% of global population has this condition, with 90% being female and 10% being male.

Fibromyalgia is often medically classified as a combination of both musculoskeletal and neuropsychiatric (because it's so associated and linked), and patients often respond to a combination of:

• pharmaceutical medicines
• psychology interventions including cognitive behavior therapy
• social interventions including patient, family and caregivers in the process
• physiotherapy and hand therapy for exercise therapy and pain management

Signs and Symptoms

As mentioned earlier, patients with fibromyalgia:

• may experience different types/mix of pains (location, body part etc)
  
• may experience different severity of the pain mix
• may experience different frequency of the pain mix
• may experience different time of pain

The common defining symptom is that the pain is long term, generalized, tiredness/fatigability and increased sensitivity to pain with normal touch/pressure.

Other symptoms that patients also reported includes

• numbness and tingling
• muscle contractions
  
• muscle spasms
• generalized weakness
  
• muscle twitchings and flickerings
  
• bladder and bowel control difficulties
  
• sleep difficulties (getting and staying and getting back to sleep)
  

Many fibromyalgia patients report experiencing a form of brain dysfunction, usually termed as 'brain fog', where they feel or experience

• poor concentration
• short term- and long termed- memory loss
• decreased reaction time
• difficulty in multi-tasking
• poor attention span.
  

Almost all fibromyalgia patients report feeling anxious, worried and depressed. (Patient may consider craniosacral therapy and BodyTalk to complement physiotherapy sessions with us)

Other related symptoms include myofascial pain, also known as trigger points, which can cause localized or referred pain to nearby structures, and unfortunately these referred pain may trigger a nervous system response.

Causes of fibromyalgia

1. Genetic predisposition ie your family has ever have/had a history of fibromyalgia, your disposition to have it will increase
   
2. High stress may be a "tipping point" that starts the triggering of active fibromyalgia
   
3. Intense cold may also be a tipping point
   
4. Abnormal serotonin metabolism
   
5. Deficient growth hormone (GH) secretion
   
6. Psychological factors eg stress, depression, loss
   
7. Physical trauma such as accidents, falls, injuries, operations etc
   

fibromyalgia Treatments

Treatments are segmented into three broad categories: pharmaceutics, investigational medicine and physiotherapy.

1. Pharmaceutical - currently, Lyrica, Cymbalta and Milnacipran are the three main medications that are FDA approved. Other medications that are often prescribed also include antidepressants, anti-seizure medication, dopamine agonists, muscle relaxants and opioids
   
   
2. Investigational medications - cannabinoids and the 5-HT3 receptor antagonist tropisetron
   
   
3. Physiotherapy - regular exercise physiotherapy with our senior physiotherapists will bring a combination of benefits, and the most direct ones are improved strength, stamina and cardiovascular ability will increase your ability to participate in work, life and responsibilities.
   
   It will also improve your pain experience (lower) and improve your sleeping patterns. Patients often report improved energy levels and decreased agitation/hyperirritability. We may prescribe regular clinical Pilates as well, to improve your core strength.
   
   We also recommend regular deep tissue massage therapy (will start gentle) to decrease tight muscle knots as well as desensitive your hypersensitivity to touch (important), as well as craniosacral therapy (CST) and BodyTalk.

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Phoenix Rehab Physio Services

Phoenix Rehab Group works with specialist physiotherapists and rehab therapists who are highly trained, qualified, experienced and passionate to provide high level of expert care to our patients.

PHYSIOTHERAPY & PHYSICAL THERAPY

• Muscle, Bone & Joint Pains Physiotherapy
• Back and Neck (Spinal / Spine) Pain Physio
• Sports Physio
• Post-surgery Physio
  

• Shoulder Pain Physio
• Foot Pain Physio
  
• Women's Health Physio
• Dry Needling Physio
• Elbow Pain Physio
• Hip Pain Physio

• Knee Pain Physio
• Computerized Spinal Decompression Traction
• Pain Relief Physiotherapy
• Shockwave Therapy
  

See all the conditions our principal physiotherapists treat.

HAND THERAPY & CUSTOMIZED SPLINTING

Patients who sustained injuries to their elbows, forearms, hands, wrists (sprains and fractures) and fingers, usually will benefit / require Hand Therapy to

1. manage and decrease hand pains
2. improve range of motion, strength and dexterity
3. increase the function of their hand following injuries or post-operations

Commonly treated hand pain injuries includes

• wrist sprains and wrist fractures
• thumb sprains, finger fractures and finger dislocations
• repetitive strain injuries such as de Quervain's tenosynovitis (mummy's thumb), carpal tunnel syndrome, trigger finger, tennis elbow, golfer's elbow and more.
• See all the conditions our hand therapists treat here.
• Fabricate thermoplastic custom made hand splints

REFORMER CLINICAL PILATES & WELLNESS PILATES

Clinical Pilates is a form of physical exercise that focuses on posture, core stability, balance, control, strength, flexibility and breathing.

It is a system of safe and effective exercises, which meet specific individual needs, to treat a wide range of injuries and conditions.

You may do Pilates as matwork or with the reformer or both, and every session will be customized 100% to your fitness, injury and tolerance.

TRADITIONAL CHINESE MEDICINE (TCM)

• Pain Management TCM
• Acupuncture TCM
• Gua Sha TCM 

• Cupping TCM
• Auricular Therapy TCM
• Herbal TCM Medicine & Supplementation

DEEP TISSUE RELEASE & SPORTS MASSAGE THERAPY

Sports and deep tissue release massage helps to increase nutrient-rich blood flow to tired, tight and tense muscles to accelerate recovery and  shorten downtime / recovery period required.

It also prevents muscles from scar tissue micro-tears (and potential ruptures), and increases muscle performance. Having regular deep tissue and sports massage will keep your muscles healthy and fit with body/movement-confidence.

Read the benefits of regular deep tissue release therapy here.

ALTERNATIVE THERAPIES

• Craniosacral Therapy
• SomatoEmotional Release
• Visceral Manipulation (VM)
• Lymphatic Drainage (LDT)
• Facilitated Stretch Therapy (FST)

All our allied health therapists and TCM physicians are fully insured and registered with Allied Health Professions Council (AHPC) and Traditional Chinese Medicine Board (TCMB).

See our entire team here with introductions and their specializations.

At the first session, our specialist physiotherapists will carry out a thorough assessment, helping them to select the most appropriate treatment to help you recover as well as provide treatment in the same session.

Follow up sessions are inline to provide expert treatment for your pain as well as prescribing specific exercises to reduce your risk of re-injury and giving you a long term solution.

do Tell Your Family, Friends And Colleagues About Us =)

We appreciate you as our valued clients and want you to know that the # 1 way we grow as a clinic / brand is through word of mouth referrals from valued patients like yourself.

We prefer not to rely on advertising - instead, we prefer and appreciate the goodwill and positive reinforcement from patients. When you have the chance, please tell your family, friends and physicians about the positive results and experience you have had in our physio clinics.

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