What is fibromyalgia?
Fibromyalgia affects about 2-4% of Americans and is more common in women than men. Fibromyalgia results in an overall feeling of body pain with some tenderness in spots like the neck, shoulders, elbows, and knees. Although fibromyalgia is considered medically harmless in that it does not lead to serious conditions like heart disease, it can be very debilitating for a person who suffers from it. Fibromyalgia may also cause exhaustion due to an interruption in a sufferer’s sleeping patterns.
The Mayo Clinic website states, “Doctors don’t know what causes fibromyalgia, but it most likely involves a variety of factors working together.”
Some Conventional and Natural Pain relief methods For Fibromyalgia
“Experts say medication works in about 30 to 50 percent of fibromyalgia patients,” says Andrea Kane, senior medical editor at Arthritis Today, a magazine published by the Arthritis Foundation.
As far as non-drug natural pain relief treatments go, research shows that physical activity is the most effective against fibromyalgia. study after study has shown that exercise is one of the best ways to reduce pain, improve mood, enhance sleep, and release stress.
“Trigger point release, acupuncture, chiropractic manipulation, and myofascial release are usually well received by patients and can be beneficial, but results are not long lasting. In addition, patients may not be able to afford long-term therapy since these are sometimes not covered by insurance.” ~ Chad S Boomershine, MD Fibromyalgia and Psychoneuroimmunology Specialist
Vanderbilt Center for Integrative HealthAssistant Professor of Medicine
Can Heat Therapy Reduce Fibromyalgia Pain?
A group of fibromyalgia patients that had responded so poorly to treatments was hand-picked to participate in an extended in-hospital stay where the team of alternative practitioners performed the study. Over their approximately two weeks stay everyone received phytotherapy/mind-body therapies, hydrotherapy, lifestyle regulative therapy, and movement therapies. In addition, some people received detoxification, neural therapies, homeopathy, and diet advice. One group received heat treatments (plus the other therapies) while the control group didn’t.
An analysis indicated that the control group ended up receiving much more physical and movement therapy than the heat treatment group. That suggested that heat treatment was more effective than physical therapy in reducing pain and improving functionality. (The amounts of phytotherapy, psychotherapy/mind/body, detoxification, neural therapies, homeopathy and diet advice received from the two groups was the same.)
The decrease in pain the FM patients received from the hyperthermia treatments and the in-hospital stay was both gratifying and sobering. It indicated that providing multiple alternative and mind/body treatments during an in-hospital stay can significantly reduce pain. Whether such intense and expensive types of treatment are feasible or cost-effective is another question.
The increased functionality and greater pain reductions experienced by the patients receiving infrared heat treatments, on the other hand, was promising. If they’re accessible, heat treatments are very simple to use. You can read the full article here.
FAR Infrared Sauna Heat Therapy Is The Best Natural Pain Relief For Fibromyalgia
As a nurse and a massage therapist, I always seek to find the best way to help my clients, using natural methods for pain relief. And, I have found that FAR infrared sauna heat therapy to be the best natural way to relieve pain for my clients with fibromyalgia.
It isn’t just my professional experience; it’s all the research being done on infrared sauna heat therapy and fibromyalgia, especially a study in Internal Medicine from Kagoshima University Hospital in Japan.
FAR infrared sauna heat therapy has been shown to significantly decrease pain and other symptoms of fibromyalgia syndrome, a chronic disorder that is characterized by widespread pain with localized tenderness.
Researchers from Kagoshima University Hospital, Japan, studied the effects of infrared sauna sessions in 13 female fibromyalgia patients. Patients received infrared sauna therapy in cabins heated to 60°F (140°F) once per day for 15 minutes, two or five days a week. After the sauna sessions, the patients went into a warm room and were covered with a blanket from the neck down to keep them warm for 30 minutes. The researchers concluded that; “therapy is effective for the treatment of fibromyalgia syndrome.”
A study in Japan’s Nippon Rinsho reported FAR infrared sauna therapy has emerged as a promising new thermal therapy for chronic fatigue syndrome (CSF) patients with symptoms such as fatigue, pain and low-grade fever, which were “dramatically improved.”
“These results suggest that repeated thermal therapy may be a promising method for the treatment of chronic fatigue syndrome.”
Why Is FAR Infrared Sauna Heat Therapy The Best Natural Pain Relief For Fibromyalgia?
So why is FAR infrared sauna heat therapy the best natural pain relief for fibromyalgia? That answer is in an article in the European Journal of Applied Physiology. The article explains that the heat from an infrared sauna affected their beta-endorphin (betaE) levels, which plays a central role in relieving pain among patients.
“Beta-endorphin (betaE) is an important reliever of pain.”
“When faced with serious health challenges in the past, including muscle soreness that limited my daily activities and prevented me from working, I did extensive research on detoxification. Throughout my healing process, I incorporated a number of treatments to aid in my recovery, but the infrared sauna therapy was by far the best; effective in lowering my toxic load, helping my sore, stiff muscles and has in effect helped me enjoy the active lifestyle that I live today.” ~Randy Gomm
“As the first generation of man exposed to such an unprecedented plethora of daily chemicals, we have learned that stored or undetoxified chemicals can mimic any disease. “Incurable” chronic diseases that were thought to have no known cause often disappear once toxic chemicals are gone. Since the far infrared sauna is the safest, most efficacious and economical way of depurating stored toxins, this makes it a household necessity.” ~Sherry A. Rogers, M.D., Northeast Center for Environmental Medicine: Author of Detoxify or Die, and Wellness Against All Odds
Dr. Rogers and other health professionals insist that the FAR infrared sauna heat therapy is of greater benefit to fibromyalgia sufferers than the traditional sauna because of a key difference between the two styles of saunas. Rogers calls the FAR infrared sauna “infinitely more tolerable,” especially for people with fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, and multiple sclerosis because it can function effectively at a much lower temperature than a conventional sauna. The air in a FAR infrared sauna does not heat to the high extremes of a traditional steam sauna.
As you can see, FAR infrared sauna heat therapy, when used regularly in combination with diet and exercise, provides the best natural pain relief for people with fibromyalgia. Due to their much lower temperatures, FAR infrared saunas are preferred by people suffering from chronic fibromyalgia pain. So if you or a loved one has been diagnosed with fibromyalgia, I would encourage you to look into purchasing a FAR infrared sauna detoxification kit for your home so you too can experience the natural pain relief and regain your life back!.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kim Brillon is an experienced Licensed Practical Nurse and a highly successful Licensed Massage Therapist in NY State who understood the importance of regular sauna usage to ensure a detoxification process on a cellular level in order to improve overall well-being so she became a sauna dealer for Golden Designs Inc. and Almost Heaven Saunas.
Take note that Pure Life Energy Saunas is not a recognized medical entity allowed to diagnose or prescribe any medical treatment or device. You can easily find a lot of information on this website and on the internet promoting the benefits of infrared saunas. It is recommended to consult with your physician before getting started on an extensive use of an infrared sauna.
