Alternative treatments for fibromyalgia are a big part of my whole of life protocol. And for many other people with fibromyalgia too.
I’m in a group called The Fibro Blogger Directory and we were talking about working together on a post to share our collective knowledge. We decided sharing our favourite alternative treatments for fibromyalgia would be a good one.
Alternative treatments could also be called complementary treatments. They support our medicinal work with our medical team.
So in this post I will share my favourite three alternative treatments and one each from my fellow fibro bloggers. Please do remember that you always need to do your own homework (research) and discuss things with your medical team. These are just what works for us.
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Be sure to share in the comments what yours are!
Lee from Fibro Files
1. The nutritional supplement I get a great benefit from is magnesium. I have proved this to myself by using magnesium to stop leg cramps and muscle twitches all over the body. I then stopped taking the magnesium and all these annoying symptoms returned within one week. I started taking magnesium again and the jerks and cramping pains went away. I now take magnesium every day.
2. Hydrotherapy or walking and floating in water. This is something that gives my muscles both the relief and the workout they need. For both of these activities, your body is supported by the water so this takes some stress off the muscles. I alternate with about 5 minutes of walking and then floating. I enjoy doing this in warm water but many people recommend cold. I first started this as hydrotherapy exercises in a warm pool, with an instructor, but because of the pandemic, the pools have been closed for two years so now I do this activity in a nearby river.
3. Myofascial massage is my favorite type of massage as it releases tension and pain. You really need to find a practitioner who knows what they are doing. Some people recommend rolfing or Bowen therapy for the same reasons of releasing the painful trigger points. The link I would like is to Fibro Files
Shannon from Route 5976
1. Gentle yoga and stretching in the morning. Even on mornings when I’m sore I find if I do 5 minutes of stretching it can help.
2. Nature and getting out for walks as often as I can. Fresh air and focusing on my surroundings during my walk.
3. Regular physiotherapy. I usually go every 8 weeks and it really helps me.
Natasha from bohemian solitude‘s best alternative treatments for fibromyalgia
1. Magnesium Forte it may not seem to make much difference when I am taking it regularly however I certainly do notice the difference when I stop taking it (mostly due to not being able to afford it).
2. Mindfulness & Stretching is a strong way of thought process to ease some of the pains brought on from Fibro; a way of retraining the brain if you will and at the same time utilising gentle stretching on overused muscles.
3. Grounding – getting out in nature and feeling the grass through my toes, allowing my body to relax.
Katie from Pain FULLY Living: Living FULLY despite pain
1. I take Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN) twice a day. LDN is an off-label prescribed medication that has given my life back to me. I have clarity of thinking, energy, and lower pain levels. It is not an anti-depressant or an opioid. There are several quality small research studies from Standford University, U of M, and others that have shown LDN helps people with chronic pain; it does so without being addictive or with adverse side-effects. To learn about my journey, see my blog post I Did It My Way! One Year of Low Does Naltrexone for Fibromyalgia.
2. The main focus of my wellness journey has been to rewire my over-amped-up nervous system. As I learned more about how Fibromyalgia works, I realized that I had been living in fight/flight/freeze for all 54-years of my life due to a very turbulent childhood with a single-parent mom who had undiagnosed mental illnesses. A couple of years ago, I took a free online Mindfully-based Stress Release (MBSR) course. It focused on meditation. I never thought I could slow my brain down enough to meditate, but I learned that I didn’t need to. I can’t express how much meditation has helped me. When I get brain fog or exhausted, I lay down to do a twenty-minute guided meditation body scan, and usually, I get up clear-minded and re-energized.
3. Since last spring, after watching the documentary THIS MIGHT HURT by Kent Bassett and Marion Cunningham, I have worked with Dr. Howard Schubiner (featured in the film) on Mind-Body Syndrome Treatments. I can attest that 6 months into this, I am having much fewer symptoms with Interstitial Cystitis (even turning off my Interstim Implant). I was able, this September, to do something I never thought I’d do again-backpack. I went with 3 other women for a 5-day backpack on the Pictured Rocks Trail. Since then, I have continued to push the envelope. I keep noticing improvements. Yesterday, I RAN at the rest stop we were at in Florida after a 10-hour drive in the car. My legs could do it without feeling like the Tinman without being oiled!
Cynthia from The Disabled Diva
1. Cannabis– It relaxes my muscles, decreases nerve pain, and makes it possible to sleep well 97% of the time.
2. PEMF Therapy– This at-home treatment reduces much of the pain I experience from inflammation. This includes weather-induced inflammation from high pressure.
3. Infrared Red Light Therapy– Another at-home device that I use to comfort sore and aching muscles and joints.
Carrie from My Several Worlds shares about one she loves
Jin Shin Jyutsu for Treating Fibromyalgia Pain
“Jinshin Jyutsu is a style of acupressure that involves the application of the hands for balancing energy in the body.
As many of my regular readers know, I have been seeking alternative therapies for pain relief from Ankylosing Spondylitis, Fibromyalgia, and ME/CFS since 2009.
I had great success with Reiki a few years ago until my Reiki specialist moved away. I’ve also tried several treatments that did not agree with me, including Traditional Chinese Medicine, cupping, scraping, bloodletting, and acupuncture.
Imagine my surprise to find another gentle healing technique that seems to help. Jinshin Jyutsu worked well for me, and I’d like to explain more about how this style of Japanese acupressure helps to heal the body and mind.”
Read also:
Low dose naltrexone for fibromyalgia free training
The 2022 Guide to Managing Fibromyalgia
Bar from Back Pain Blog
1. When cooking, use foods with multiple uses by making a stew that can last two meals, like a roast chicken, followed by a chicken salad or a chicken curry, then you only need to stand working in the kitchen for one morning.
2. Before going away sleep and rest enough, ready for the travel which can drain you if it’s a long haul.
3. Rest is a key factor in successfully managing and living with fibromyalgia, so get as much as you can when you can.
My Best Alternative Treatments for Fibromyalgia
1. Yoga (you knew this was coming, didn’t you?) So yoga can be used therapeutically – not in the way you might be imagining. I’m talking the four tools: Gentle stretching, restorative yoga (a type of passive stretching that is very relaxing), breathwork and meditation.
All four, used well, help us to switch on the parasympathetic nervous system (the opposite of the stress response) and rest and relax.
Grab a sample of all four of these tools in my free Yoga for Chronic Pain and Fatigue series.
2. Acupuncture done by a physiotherapist. By placing an acupuncture needle in my trigger points and letting them rest, I’ve felt more relief than through any other physical treatment.
3. Nutritional supplements – namely Recovery Factors and magnesium but I’ve tried many over the years.
So there you have it – eight patient bloggers best alternative treatments for fibromyalgia. I found the similarities to be comforting. We are on similar tracks. Is there something here you want to try now?
It’s so great to see all these suggestions for what helps fibromyalgia all here in one place especially as I’m someone who loves alternative treatments and cannot tolerate many meds without side effects. Thanks for always linking up at Fibro Blogger Directory each week.