Magnesium & Malic Acid For Fibromyalgia

Fibromyalgia affects approximately 10 million people in the United States, with the majority of cases in women, according to the National Fibromyalgia Association. Doctors classify fibromyalgia as a syndrome instead of a disease because fibromyalgia involves a group of symptoms and conditions that occur together but remain unrelated and have no identifiable cause. Because fibromyalgia is a chronic disorder, patients must take steps to control the symptoms, and many choose to try alternative therapies such as magnesium and malic acid.

Fibromyalgia Symptoms

Fibromyalgia causes chronic widespread pain of the muscles and joints. The pain can occur anywhere in the body, but often concentrates on the tender points, which include the back of the neck, between the shoulder blades, back of the head, the inner knees and the sides of the hips. To receive a diagnosis of fibromyalgia, you must experience pain with no underlying cause in at least 11 tender points for at least three months, according to the Mayo Clinic. The constant pain can lead to other symptoms, including sleep disturbances and fatigue. Many patients with fibromyalgia also develop other conditions like irritable bowel syndrome, restless leg syndrome, nervous system symptoms and mental impairments like depression, anxiety and impaired memory. Although patients can take pain medication and anti-seizure medication to try to relieve their symptoms, natural supplements like magnesium and malic acid may also provide relief.

Magnesium

Magnesium serves many vital functions within the body, including helping to build strong bones, promoting muscle contractions, transmitting electrical impulses from nerves and supporting over 300 biochemical reactions. Reactions necessary to break down carbohydrates and fat into usable energy require magnesium. Adenosine triphosphate, the energy molecule in the body, exists in complex with magnesium. Without enough magnesium the body cannot produce ATP causing a decrease in energy. Research, including a study published in Magnesium Research, reports that many patients with fibromyalgia have a magnesium deficiency.

Malic Acid

Malic acid, an organic compound, provides many fruits like apples and cherries with their tart taste. The human body produces malic acid during the citric acid cycle, also known as the Krebs cycle. The citric acid cycle is one of the main metabolic cycles in the body, in which foods get broken down into energy in the form of ATP. In addition to playing a role in the production of energy, malic acid helps detoxify the body by eliminating the metal aluminum. The risk of developing aluminum toxicity increases when magnesium levels become low. Aluminum toxicity may contribute to the symptoms of fibromyalgia.

Combination Therapy

Research results published in Clinical Nutrition Insights in 1999 state that taking a combination of magnesium and malic acid may help reduce the pain of fibromyalgia. In one study, patients were given 300 to 600 mg of magnesium and 1,200 to 2,400 mg of malic acid for a period of four to eight weeks. Patients reported a significant relief of pain. Doctors continue to study the effect of nutrients like magnesium and malic acid in managing fibromyalgia symptoms.