While fibromyalgia drug options will certainly be helpful in managing pain, there are a number of natural and alternative therapies that are also helpful in conjunction with medications.

Heat therapy is commonly utilized by a number of occupational therapists, although most people have heard of it from sports players using it to treat injuries. Heat will relax stiff muscles and improve circulation throughout the body, which will usually reduce pain.

Applying this heat can be as simple as taking a hot shower or bath, and a heating pad may be especially useful during the winter months. Gel packs that are heated by microwave can also be useful in reducing fibromyalgia pain, although you should be careful when utilizing any of these methods so that you do not burn yourself. Overheating can make things worse by accidentally giving yourself third degree burns.

While heat is most useful, cold therapy can also be utilized as a fibromyalgia treatment option. Cryotherapy as it is officially called, can be as simple as taking frozen water filled plastic bags out of the freezer and applying them to a particular area. Cold therapy works by reducing circulation in an area, as opposed to increasing it.

Keep in mind that for many fibromyalgia patients, cold may not be an effective treatment option and cause more pain than relief. In addition, pain relief will only last a few hours at most.

Another alternative fibromyalgia treatment is hydrotherapy, which involves doing exercises in a pool, such as stretching and moderate aerobic exercise. This method may be particularly effective when using warmer water such as that found in the spa, although it is important to not soak in water that is over 102° F.

Occupational therapists will often utilize massage therapy in order to improve blood flow and circulation to particular muscle tissues of the body. This treatment for fibromyalgia may lessen pain for as long as a day, and it will also stimulate endorphin production, which is your bodies natural complement of painkilling drugs.

A study by the European Journal of Pain found that individuals who receive weekly massage sessions often experience substantial pain relief, although the pain will return within a couple months if the therapy is stopped.

If you’re looking for an experienced massage therapist they can help work with your fibromyalgia pain, you may wish to address the American Massage Therapy Association.

Perhaps you have seen those gimmicky magnetically charged wristbands the promise all sorts of cures? While they are certainly fraudulent, magnets can have a significant effect on pain relief with transcranial magnetic stimulation. This is currently an experimental fibermyalgia treatment option, and it involves using magnets that are applied to the scalp in order to generate magnetic fields which will carry electrical current around the brain.

This fibermyalgia treatment has only been tested on a very minute sample size, so its effectiveness has been questionable, although the initial results are promising. Individuals with migraines, who are pregnant, or who have pacemakers are automatically ineligible for this treatment option.

Chiropractors do not just tried to readjust the spine, and they will often be specialized in treating various bones and nervous disorders, and you are more likely to find a qualified fibermyalgia treating chiropractor than a massage therapist. It is usually easier to obtain insurance coverage when visiting a chiropractor is well.

Trans cutaneous electrical nerve stimulation is a fancy way of describing a device which will administer low level electrical shocks to an area that is in pain. This will hopefully stimulate nerve tissues which will then release endorphins, which will help alleviate some fibermyalgia pain.

The pulses of electricity are fairly painless, and a typical session will last about an hour. It is also possible to purchase one of these units in a portable form, in order to receive fibermyalgia treatment at home. Insurance companies may offer coverage for these devices, although they are fairly inexpensive to buy on one’s own at around $100 to $300 online.

Your doctor should recommend some of these alternative fibromyalgia treatment options in conjunction with drugs in order to help alleviate your pain, and it is important to be an active participant in your treatment plan in order to experience the maximum amount of pain relief possible.