Fibromyalgia is a chronic disease known for causing extensive musculoskeletal pain that is debilitating and quality-of-life reducing. The disorder affects both the soft tissue and the joints. While the majority of patients are women, anyone with a family history of fibromyalgia, a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder (PSTD), or a diagnosis of a rheumatic disease such as lupus are at increased risk.

Of the estimated two percent of the population diagnosed with fibromyalgia, research shows that up to 90 percent use complementary or alternative medicine to manage their symptoms. Acupuncture, in particular, has become a popular and effective treatment choice.

Characterized by chronic widespread pain fibromyalgia sufferers may also experience a heightened and painful response to pressure, insomnia, fatigue, and digestive problems. Emotional health and mental clarity may also destabilize causing mood swings, anxiety, brain fog, and memory loss.

Symptoms usually appear after physical or emotional trauma but a trigger is not always evident. It is diagnosed when there is widespread pain throughout the body for a minimum of 3 months, and when pressure is applied to 11 out of 18 specific body sites.

Acupuncture and Chinese medicine offer pain relief for the body, emotional balance for the heart, and mental clarity for the mind. According to acupuncture and Chinese medicine, pain is seen as a disruption to the flow of Qi within the body. This is best expressed in the Chinese saying: "Bu tong ze tong, tong ze bu tong" which means "free flow: no pain, no free flow: pain." The disruption that presents as fibromyalgia is often associated with disharmony of the Liver, Spleen, Kidney and Heart systems.

Chinese medicine focuses on treating each individual based on their constitution, emotional state, the intensity and location of their pain, digestive health, sleeping patterns, and an array of other symptoms. Treatment often includes a combination of Chinese medicine modalities, including acupuncture.

The study "Fibromyalgia syndrome treated with acupuncture at the acupoints of the affected meridians and heavy moxibustion at painful points: a randomized, controlled trial," published in the February 2016 issue of Zhongguo Zhen Jiu, yielded positive results.

The acupuncture/moxibustion (AM) group underwent treatments every other day, for a total of four weeks. The drug therapy group (DT) took their prescribed medications everyday, also for a total of four weeks. Before and after every treatment, researchers determined the patient's level of pain using the visual analog scale (VAS) and the revised fibromyalgia impact questionnaire (FIQR). Both the VAS and FIQR were completed four weeks post-treatment.

Although there was a decrease in pain for both groups during the test period—only the AM group maintained a remarkable drop in pain levels one month after the study was completed. Researchers recommend the use of acupuncture to manage pain associated with fibromyalgia. Long term, it is more effective than drug therapy, with little to no adverse effects.

Source: Source: Li D, Yang L, Li J. (2016). Fibromyalgia syndrome treated with acupuncture at the acupoints of the affected meridians and heavy moxibustion at painful points: a randomized, controlled trial. Zhongguo Zhen Jiu. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27348913