Fibromyalgia is a serious condition which affects millions of people across the globe. Its main symptom is excruciating pain and patients suffering from this disease sometimes have difficulties conducting their most mundane everyday tasks.
That’s why it’s been the subject of a number of research but the latest one might just help us overcome it at last. The most recent research was focused on finding the cause of the pain and they’ve discovered that it doesn’t originate from the brain.
Until recently many doctors have considered it to be a psychological disorder but now researchers have discovered that the pain comes from a very unusual place – the blood vessels in your hand.
This major breakthrough might help us find a cure at last and help millions of Americans who suffer from the condition. The researchers involved in the study focused on the skin on the hand of a patient who had a lack of sensory nerve fibers, leading to lowered pain response.
To their surprise, they found a number of nerve fibers called arterioles-venule in the skin sample which until now were considered to just regulate the blood flow. But they’ve now discovered that there’s a direct link between fibromyalgia pain and these nerves.
This groundbreaking discovery may finally offer some answers and explain why many patients mostly complain on pain in the hands and their situation gets worse in the cold.
Neuroscientist Dr. Frank L. Rice explained: “We previously thought that these nerve endings were only involved in the regulation of blood flow in a subconscious level, but now we have evidence that the ends of the blood vessels can also contribute to our conscious sense touch, and also the pain. “
At the moment, the fibromyalgia treatment that patients receive isn’t bringing relief to a great number of sufferers. Doctors usually prescribe narcotic analgesics; anti-seizure medications, anti-depressants and some simple advice like “get more sleep and exercise regularly”. The condition is being underrated and not many doctors understand the severity of the symptoms. But on the up side, with this latest breakthrough there’s hope for the millions suffering and they can look forward to a cure.
