1,5 billion people all over the world deal with chronic pain. For them, every day is an ongoing struggle to get out of bed, go to work, study, run errands, and take care of their family. But there is a small percentage of these people who have it even worse. We are talking about patients with allodynia and fibromyalgia. These two chronic conditions can make your life extremely difficult, even to accomplish daily tasks like putting on socks, taking a shower, or brushing your hair. Patients who are dealing with these conditions feel excruciating pain, even if a soft feather touches their skin.
“Fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) is a chronic musculoskeletal condition that has impacted up to 5% of the global population. On the other hand, “allodynia, a kind of neuropathic pain, has affected 6.9% to 10% of people around the world.”
So, if you can relate to this problem, keep reading to find out if fibromyalgia or allodynia can be treated and how to manage these conditions and increase the quality of your life.
What Is Allodynia?
Though nobody enjoys feeling it, pain is actually a friend rather than a foe. Being a protective mechanism of the body, it signals your brain to put a stop to the action or step away from the situation that is harming you. However, this rule does not apply to patients with allodynia who go through agonizing pain. The glial cells surrounding your neurons release more neurotransmitters than needed, which amplifies the level of pain and causes a distorted sensory experience. Most patients experience flare-ups a few times a year, while others dream of allodynia pain relief daily and are curious about allodynia treatment at home.
To make matters even worse, the illness is incredibly hard to diagnose. Nobody knows what causes allodynia, and it hasn’t been studied thoroughly yet. For this reason, a lot of medical specialists still view chronic pain only as a symptom, not as a standalone disease.
Types of Allodynia
The definition of allodynia is rather straightforward – a painful sensation in response to harmless stimuli. But the condition itself is more complicated than that. Depending on the cause of the pain, allodynia can be divided into three types:
- Mechanical (caused by the slightest movement across the skin, like using a loofah, washcloth, or getting under a blanket at night)
- Tactile (caused by a light touch or pressure on the skin, like when wearing socks, a belt, a waistband, or straps)
- Thermal (caused by a mild change in temperature; for example, when taking a shower or standing in the wind)
Keep in mind that every patient is unique. While some may experience only one type of allodynia, others might have a combination of two or even all three types. This leads to the million-dollar question many patients have: “Can allodynia be treated at home or in cynical settings?”
Fibromyalgia Conditions
Fibromyalgia is a persistent and widespread discomfort affecting the muscles, joints, and soft tissues, including the feet. It often comes with additional symptoms such as fatigue, difficulty sleeping, memory problems, and mood swings. Experts believe that fibromyalgia intensifies pain by altering how pain signals are transmitted from the spine to the brain, and patients start noticing the symptoms after an event like an injury, surgery, infection, or major stress. In some cases, the symptoms slowly build up over time without a clear cause.
Women are more likely to get fibromyalgia than men. Patients very commonly experience fibromyalgia foot pain, headaches, TMJ disorders, irritable bowel syndrome, anxiety, and depression. Although fibromyalgia can’t be cured, treatments can help manage symptoms. Medications can control pain, and physical therapy for fibromyalgia, along with exercise, relaxation, and stress-reduction techniques, can also provide some relief to manage the symptoms.
Treatments for Allodynia and Fibromyalgia
Modern science has yet to come up with a permanent cure for allodynia and fibromyalgia. And while it does, the only option left is to manage pain using medication. A patient with allodynia is usually prescribed pills associated with such conditions as diabetes, fibromyalgia, spinal cord injuries, and shingles. The nerve pain can also be soothed with topical ointments and creams containing lidocaine.
Such popular pain management methods as acupuncture and physical therapy for fibromyalgia can improve the conditions, but these procedures are not suitable for patients with allodynia. Acupressure and physical therapy treatments both involve touch, and it may only cause more discomfort. So apart from medication or ointment application, allodynia treatment at home is a bit difficult.
Another approach to treating the condition is prevention. If you are dealing with fibromyalgia foot pain, migraines, diabetes, postherpetic neuralgia, and complex regional pain syndrome, you are at risk for developing allodynia. So treating the underlying cause may be effective in preventing the condition.
Is There Any Natural Treatment for These Illnesses?
Though there are a lot of medication options available on the market, everyone is not keen on taking painkillers every day. Painkiller drugs usually come with a long list of side-effects, including addiction. Luckily, there are a few things you can do to relieve your condition besides swallowing pills. Research has shown that leading a healthy lifestyle is also a great option. This means maintaining a balanced diet, exercising regularly, and getting enough sleep. If you smoke, quitting the habit will improve your circulation and reduce inflammation in your body.
Are you looking for a holistic mechanical, thermal, and tactile allodynia treatment at home? We recommend trying pulsed electromagnetic field therapy (PEMF). It is an innovative approach based on restoring normal cell functions through low-frequency pulses mimicking the Earth’s magnetic field.
Almagia’s ALMAG-2 is an easily-operated PEMF device that you can use at home as a supplement to your regular treatment plan. The electromagnetic field devices are 100% safe and don’t have any side effects, so there is really no harm in giving them a try! Contact us at any time for more information on PEMF therapy and how it can benefit you. Stay healthy!