Unraveling the Enigma of Fibromyalgia: Causes, Risks, Complications and Triggers Explained

7. Insufficient Exercise

Many patients with this disorder have a concern about exercise making their symptoms worse if they exercise too much or otherwise stress out their muscles. This can be true. In addition, the symptoms of fibromyalgia can also make being physically active difficult. However, insufficient exercise can also trigger a flare-up of symptoms and make them worse overall. Patients with this condition need to be physically active, though they must include exercise carefully. Specifically, they should start low and gradually increase how much they exercise and how intensely they do so over time. Research shows that getting even a small amount of exercise can reduce the severity of a patient's fibromyalgia symptoms when they have a bad day.

8. Anxiety And Depression

Reports indicate that many fibromyalgia patients also deal with anxiety and depression. It appears that this applies to approximately twenty percent of patients with this chronic disorder, making them common complications. Unfortunately, evidence also shows that these conditions can trigger flares of fibromyalgia symptoms and make the symptoms worse overall. This can happen in several ways. For instance, anxiety disorder often involves chronic stress in high amounts. As mentioned, stress is a common trigger for fibromyalgia. Anxiety also increases pain perception, in part due to the anxiety regarding having a flare-up. Depression also significantly increases pain and fatigue in fibromyalgia patients, worsening bad symptom days.