Brig. Gen. Rebecca Halstead is Helped by Chiropractic Care

Ear Problems Common in Fibromyalgia

Fibromyalgia is frequently associated with ear-related symptoms such as feeling of ear fullness, earache, and tinnitus (ringing in the ear). Recent research that appeared in the Journal of Clinical Rheumatology sought to determine how fibromyalgia and ear problems are related.

Concluding the article, the researchers from Japan said “given our findings, we suspect the onset of ear fullness may be associated not with abnormal findings in the middle and inner ear function but with other causes, such as central sensitization.”

So the ear symptoms many people who suffer with fibromyalgia experience are associated with central sensitization. So what is central sensitization?

Your Body’s Alarm System

In order to understand what central sensitization is and why it’s important to fibromyalgia, you have to first understand what the central nervous system is designed to do.

Nerves make the arms and legs move. Nerves make the heart beat and the lungs breathe. Ultimately, the entire nervous system is designed to keep the body alive. That is its most primal function. If a lion is chasing, the body runs. If the hand touches something hot, it jerks away. Just like a built-in alarm system, this system of nerves will alert the body to danger and trigger automatic protective responses. Normally, this system works beautifully and life is preserved well into adulthood.

However, in some cases, this alarm system goes haywire. For example, what happens if this alarm system is too sensitive? Just like a car alarm system that triggers anytime the wind blows, an overly sensitive nervous system can lead to false alarms and alarms that never turn off. Scientists have studied the process that leads to an overly sensitive nervous system and have called It central sensitization.

This hypersensitive nervous system will have many false alarms that are triggered by normally non-threatening activities like walking, sitting, standing, talking, breathing, and moving. These false alarms cause life for someone with a sensitized nervous system to be a hellish state of constant pain and agony over seemingly benign activities. Hence, this faulty alarm system can generate a constant signal output of nerve pain, even when the threatening “lion” is gone.

Upper Cervical Chiropractic Resets the Alarm

Dr. Gerry Clum has been quoted as saying:

“Fibromyalgia involves turmoil of the central nervous system, yielding a situation known as central sensitization, which causes heightened nervous system responses. Overall health and wellness is affected by an individual’s nervous system, an area in which chiropractors are proficiently trained to address, making chiropractic care a viable option for fibromyalgia patients.”

A great example of this is seen in retired Brig. Gen. Becky Halstead, who suffered from fibromyalgia at the time she served in Iraq where she was the U.S. Army’s first female general to hold a command. “The adjustments and nutritional advice I received from my chiropractor helped in treating the fibromyalgia and made me feel better on a day-to-day basis,” claimed Halstead, a West Point graduate who has been urging that access to chiropractic care become a given for all U.S. soldiers. “Personally, I hope someday that chiropractic care becomes part of all our military’s healthcare programs, so that all soldiers can have the opportunity to benefit from the care that only a doctor of chiropractic can provide.” 

To see if you can be helped with upper cervical chiropractic, schedule an evaluation.

Dr. Lauren Millman of Suwanee Spine and Wellness is an Upper Cervical Chiropractor who has helped many people find natural relief from fibromyalgia in Suwanee, Georgia. Her upper cervical clinic also serves the communities of John’s Creek, Sugar Hill, Buford and Duluth. She is uniquely trained to correct problems in the upper cervical spine (upper neck). This vital area is intimately connected to the central nervous system and problems in this area have been shown to be an underlying cause of a variety of different health problems, including migraines, fibromyalgia, trigeminal neuralgia, high blood pressure and irritable bowel syndrome. More information can be found on her website at http://www.suwaneespine.com