A new fibromyalgia study that was released in Nov. 2013 suggests that fibromyalgia may be a central nervous system disorder/disease. The study was authored by a Marco Loggia, PhD and was published in Arthritis and Rheumatism journal.
The study was done on a relatively small population. It indicated that the ventral tegmental area (VTA) of fibromyalgia sufferers was lacking in normal responsiveness. This could explain why people with FM largely find little pain relief when using prescription pain meds. The study indicated also that more studies should be done in future to figure out if GABAergic and dopaminergic factors increase pain relief for FM. (these effect different brain function and are not opioids)
Of interest to me, was the statement made by Dr. Loggia that implementing cognitive strategies when working with fibromyalgia sufferers could be beneficial for pain management and treatment. An article published in the Journal of Behavioral Medicine last year describes a study on CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy) used for sleep disturbances of FM patients. http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10865-013-9520-y. Sleep, or lack thereof, being a mitigating factor in chronic pain cycles. Cognitive behavioral strategies combined with massage therapy is a study topic that I have not found yet.
In looking at the Loggia, et al. study, it suggests that the neural wiring/neural transmission paths in FM patients confuse pain anticipation and pain relief anticipation. There seems to exist a dysregulation in the brain processing areas that recognize reward/punishment.
In other words, what someone would regularly regard as soothing may be experienced as painful by a FM patient. What's regularly regarded as moderately painful may not register immediately with FM, or may register as a 10. Anticipation of pain relief doesn't always register as relief, or doesn't slow the pain pathway.
This is important in regards to massage therapy, as many FM sufferers avoid massage because their experience of it has been uncomfortable, even excruciating, to them. It is serious, and quite literally, like rubbing someone the wrong way.
Through talking/communicating through the massage, listening and learning what a client is experiencing and learning deep breathing practices, I know I have helped to change response to pain through massage sessions for several FM clients. I know because they have told me so. It is anecdotal and a very small number of clients; but I think a great study could be made to try to show improvement through massage therapy.
I think it is about a slow process of rewiring the brain, to view the anticipation of pain and feel through that, learn some new coping strategies to experience the relief of pain. It is really a slow process, and many FM clients may have a long slog to experience and learn self trust/body trust and trust of another person to be present with them while they attempt their repatterning of pain response. It has been most optimal when a client is working with a CBT professional in psychotherapy while also attempting massage therapy. Massage doesn't 'cure' fibromyalgia pain, nothing has been shown to cure FM thus far; but with a supportive LMT and a brave client, I believe pain levels may be reduced over time.
The study was done on a relatively small population. It indicated that the ventral tegmental area (VTA) of fibromyalgia sufferers was lacking in normal responsiveness. This could explain why people with FM largely find little pain relief when using prescription pain meds. The study indicated also that more studies should be done in future to figure out if GABAergic and dopaminergic factors increase pain relief for FM. (these effect different brain function and are not opioids)
Of interest to me, was the statement made by Dr. Loggia that implementing cognitive strategies when working with fibromyalgia sufferers could be beneficial for pain management and treatment. An article published in the Journal of Behavioral Medicine last year describes a study on CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy) used for sleep disturbances of FM patients. http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10865-013-9520-y. Sleep, or lack thereof, being a mitigating factor in chronic pain cycles. Cognitive behavioral strategies combined with massage therapy is a study topic that I have not found yet.
In looking at the Loggia, et al. study, it suggests that the neural wiring/neural transmission paths in FM patients confuse pain anticipation and pain relief anticipation. There seems to exist a dysregulation in the brain processing areas that recognize reward/punishment.
In other words, what someone would regularly regard as soothing may be experienced as painful by a FM patient. What's regularly regarded as moderately painful may not register immediately with FM, or may register as a 10. Anticipation of pain relief doesn't always register as relief, or doesn't slow the pain pathway.
This is important in regards to massage therapy, as many FM sufferers avoid massage because their experience of it has been uncomfortable, even excruciating, to them. It is serious, and quite literally, like rubbing someone the wrong way.
Through talking/communicating through the massage, listening and learning what a client is experiencing and learning deep breathing practices, I know I have helped to change response to pain through massage sessions for several FM clients. I know because they have told me so. It is anecdotal and a very small number of clients; but I think a great study could be made to try to show improvement through massage therapy.
I think it is about a slow process of rewiring the brain, to view the anticipation of pain and feel through that, learn some new coping strategies to experience the relief of pain. It is really a slow process, and many FM clients may have a long slog to experience and learn self trust/body trust and trust of another person to be present with them while they attempt their repatterning of pain response. It has been most optimal when a client is working with a CBT professional in psychotherapy while also attempting massage therapy. Massage doesn't 'cure' fibromyalgia pain, nothing has been shown to cure FM thus far; but with a supportive LMT and a brave client, I believe pain levels may be reduced over time.