Injury and Muscle Trauma

Muscle pain is one of the foremost symptoms of fibromyalgia. Aches, pain, and stiffness often contribute to increased fatigue and even disability in many fibromyalgia sufferers. Numerous fibromyalgia sufferers find that they have trouble remaining active due to a decreased range of motion and persistent muscle pain. A number of researchers have theorized that muscle trauma and injury may actually play a role in causing fibromyalgia.

Microtrauma to Muscles
Unfortunately, muscle injuries can be caused by pretty much anything. From car accidents to aggressive exercise routines, muscle injuries are experienced by almost every one at some point in their lives. Most muscle injuries make themselves known fairly soon after trauma, however, some injuries remain dormant.

Muscle microtrauma tends to remain undetected by most sufferers. Sometimes, trauma incurred through exercise or car accidents can hit the tiny muscles and nerves inside your body. These tiny muscles can become torn, eventually contributing to the formation of trigger points around the body.

Muscle Weakness
After a muscle injury, your first impulse may be to lie down and give your muscles a break. While this may seem helpful, it can actually lead to further pain; it could even cause you to develop the chronic pain of fibromyalgia. Muscles need to be exercised in order to maintain tone and condition.

If allowed to rest for lengthy periods of time, muscles lose their strength and tone, becoming very weak. As a result, when you resume exercise, muscles can spasm, becoming tight and congested. Oxygen, nutrients, and waste materials can then become trapped in these muscles, increasing the amount of pain that you feel. In this way, muscle injuries are thought to contribute to fibromyalgia symptoms.

Central Nervous System Injury
Central nervous system injury also seems to be linked to fibromyalgia. Your central nervous system, which is made up of your brain and spinal column, can become easily injured by accidents, stress, or infection. Injury to the central nervous system can interfere with the release of neurotransmitters and hormones, as well as blood flow, causing serious pain and other symptoms.

A recent study analyzed the occurrence of fibromyalgia symptoms in people experiencing neck trauma. It was found that people with neck injuries are 13 times more likely to develop fibromyalgia than those without such injuries.

Central nervous system injury can also interfere with your brainwave patterns. Brainwaves are electrical patterns that represent your brain’s activities. There are four major types of brainwaves, and each is involved in different processes. Injury can sometimes interfere with your brainwaves, causing sleep disorders, fibrofog, and other fibromyalgia symptoms.