1. Increase Your Levels of Vitamin B12
Supplementing your diet with vitamin B12 each day can increase your energy levels and decrease the pain of fibromyalgia. Studies have shown that most people with fibromyalgia have low levels of vitamin B12 in their cerebrospinal fluid. Vitamin B12 is essential to energy production in the body. Since it's hard for the body to absorb vitamin B12 in tablet form, it's better to take it as a liquid or as an injection from your doctor.
2. Rub on Some Capsaicin Cream
Using capsaicin cream on painful spots several times each day will gradually reduce the pain over a period of several weeks. Derived from cayenne peppers, capsaicin cream numbs the neurotransmitters that carry pain. It also depletes Substance P in the body. Substance P is the chemical responsible for the transmission of pain in the body's neurotransmitters, and people with fibromyalgia have been found to have higher than normal levels of this substance in their bodies. Capsaicin cream should be rubbed into painful spots three to four times a day. It will take several weeks before you begin noticing results, but once you realize the pain is reduced or gone, it should stay that way as long as you're using capsaicin cream daily.
3. Get Acupuncture
Acupuncture is effective at reducing the pain of fibromyalgia. When the needles are inserted at strategic points on the body, they stimulate the release of endorphins, which block the transmission of pain. Typically, an acupuncture session of an hour or more at least once a week is effective for keeping pain levels to a minimum, and many health insurance companies now pay for the procedure.
4. Massage Can Help Ease the Pain
Massage reduces the pain of fibromyalgia by inducing an overall sense of relaxation throughout the body. It increases feelings of being healthy and safe, which reduces stress. Massage also reduces the by-products of the pain in the body, such as elevated levels of cortisol that can make you feel stressed out. Many different massage techniques are appropriate for people with fibromyalgia, such as reflexology, cranial-sacral therapy, neuromuscular therapy and passive stretching.
