Hope for Fibromyalgia

There is soooo much foolishness on the net regarding fibromyalgia and so few good articles. When I come across a good one, I simply must share it. Here is the link for the full text. Below are a few highlights:

“It’s a strange and different pain that seems to be in the muscles but really isn’t,” Epstein said.

“It’s not a muscle disease,” Bushan said. “It’s a pain perception disease.”

Epstein said there is nothing wrong with the parts of the body that hurt. Instead the disorder is in the chemical messages that the nerves use to send pain sensation to the brain.

“That doesn’t mean the person is crazy,” Epstein said. “It means the pain nerves are turned on when they’re not supposed to be. The result is this pain that appears to make no sense.”

…………..Fibromyalgia often affects sleep, said Epstein.

“It is almost always associated with a chronic sleep disorder,” she said.

Addressing the sleep disorder is critical because if the underlying sleep disorder is not corrected, the fibromyalgia will not get better, Epstein said.

Fibromyalgia is a treatable condition.

Are you a candidate for disc replacement?

A recent review of the science was published asking who are the best candidates for disc replacement. The answer is……(drum roll)……we really have no idea. Though, the last time that I spoke to a neurosurgeon about this, he thought that they might have a future for neck pain, but he was very doubtful about it’s usefulness in the lower back.

Resurrection in Medical Journal!

An article in the latest issue of Spine, a highly-respected medical journal, is about “Temporary Mortality” (mortality means death).

Before you ask for re-prints and wonder where to send your checks…..temporary mortality actually refers to people dying in a short period (30 days in this case, I think) after surgery. Just an example of the wonders of medical terminology.