Neurological Fibromyalgia
Neurological Fibromyalgia used to be known as central nervous system miscommunication fibromyalgia is the most common form of FMS. This type is characterized by miscommunication between the central nervous system and the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (“HPA”) axis.
Neurological Fibromyalgia is most often caused by trauma. Head and neck trauma is most common, with whiplash being a well documented type of trauma.
Following a trauma such as whiplash, the symptoms often do not begin immediately. In many cases, the symptoms of fibromyalgia do not present for 1-5 years following the trauma. This is because the collaborative effects of the trauma can take years to result in widespread symptoms.
Neurological fibromyalgia can also be due to congenital spinal malformation.
An In-Depth Look At Neurological Fibromyalgia
Neurological Fibromyalgia is caused by "mixed messages" between the spinal cord and the brain, called CNS miscommunication.
Messages can be disrupted due to indirect pressure on the spinal cord, or by direct pressure on the spinal cord. One example of indirect pressure is the stretching of the spinal cord caused by a reversed cervical curve. A reversed cervical curve can cause lengthen the path the spinal cord must take to reach the brain. This causes the spinal cord to stretch and compresses the nerve fibers within the spinal cord. Think of stretching a rubber band as an example.
The result of compressed nerve fibers is a message congestion, much like a busy highway during a traffic jam. The result is delayed or abnormal messages received by the brain from the body, and delivered to the body by the brain.
Imagine you are going to build a robot. You have been instructed that you must build in the order you receive the materials. You plan accordingly and order the supplies in the order you will need them. However, due to congested roads (pressure on the cord), the supplies do not come in the order they are supposed to. As you can imagine, the entire process of building the robot will be chaotic, and naturally the end product will not function well as a robot at all.
Symptoms of neurological fibromyalgia may include oversensitization, inability to balance hormones due to the body not communicating quickly enough with the brain, numbness and tingling in the extremities, restless leg syndrome, and organ and gland problems (such as thyroid problems). These are just a few of many symptoms that can result from such a problem.
You May Have Neurological Fibromyalgia If...
- Putting significant pressure in the middle of your neck, just below the base of the skull, makes your symptoms worse;
- Your symptoms began following an accident or injury to the neck;
- You have had a traumatic brain injury;
- Your symptoms began as neck pain;
- You have always had neck pain;
- You have a disc herniation in your neck;
- You have klippel-feil syndrome;
- You had a traumatic birth.
Recommendations for Neurological Fibromyalgia
Neurological fibromyalgia requires treatment to correct the structural problem constricting nerve flow between the brain and body.
