Fibromyalgia is a disorder of unknown cause characterized by chronic muscle pain, weakness and fatigue. More women than men have this chronic condition. Symptoms can vary from person to person and can come and go throughout life. Because doctors cannot provide specific treatment or a cure, patients often search for alternative treatments.
Minerals as Electrolytes
Patients with fibromyalgia should eat a healthy well-balanced diet to ensure they get the recommended amounts of essential vitamins and minerals. Many of the essential minerals, the non-organic elements, function as electrolytes, which makes them vital to normal muscle function. Electrolytes not only balance the amount of fluid within cells and surrounding cells, but they also transmit the tiny electrical signals produced by nerves. Minerals that affect muscle function include sodium, calcium, magnesium, potassium and phosphorus.
Muscle Function
Your body continually relies on the ability of your muscles to contract and relax. Most people remain unaware of muscle function because it occurs so often. Only when your muscles feel weak or fatigued, such as occurs in fibromyalgia, do you notice the importance of their function in everything you do. Muscle cells contain calcium ions within an internal structure and magnesium ions in the fluid portion of the cell. When nerves send electrical impulses to the muscle, the impulse stimulates the internal structure to release calcium ions which triggers the muscle cell to contract. In response to the presence of calcium ions in the fluid portion of the cell, the magnesium ions produce electrical impulses that propel the calcium back into the internal structure, which allows the muscle cell to relax. Sodium and potassium also play a role by together producing an electrochemical gradient in the cell membrane that transmits the nerve signal into the cell.
Magnesium Deficiency
Because of the role magnesium plays in normal muscle function, some scientists theorize that a magnesium deficiency may play a role in fibromyalgia. A study published in the December 1997 issue of "Magnesium Research" found that 44 out of the 97 patients in the study that suffered from chronic fatigue-like conditions, including fibromyalgia, suffered from a magnesium deficiency. Although the study failed to show any association between fibromyalgia and a magnesium deficiency, magnesium deficiency produces similar symptoms to fibromyalgia including agitation, anxiety, muscle weakness, muscle spasms and restless leg syndrome.
Electrolyte Level
Taking supplements that contain calcium, magnesium, sodium or potassium does not cure fibromyalgia, but meeting the daily recommended intake can help reduce the severity of your symptoms. The Institute of Medicine recommends all adults consume at least 4,700 mg of potassium per day while keeping their sodium intake to less than 2,300 mg per day. Adults should consume between 1,000 and 1,200 mg of calcium per day, depending on their ages. Because men have a higher muscle mass than women, in general, they require a higher magnesium intake of 420 mg per day, while women only need 320 mg per day.
References
- National Fibromyalgia Association: Prevalence
- "Magnesium Research": Magnesium Deficit in a Sample of the Belgian Population Presenting with Chronic Fatigue; Moorkens et. al.; December 1997
- University of Maryland Medical Center; Fibromyalgia; Stephen Ehrlich; February 2010
- "Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine"; Intravenous Micronutrient Therapy (Myer's Cocktail) for Fibromyalgia -- A Placebo Controlled Pilot Study; Ali et. al; March 2009
- Institute of Medicine: Recommended Daily Intake Summary; 2011
