Chiropractic Care for Fibromyalgia

Twenty years ago when I first started practicing chiropractic in San Diego, fibromyalgia was a catch-all diagnosis - basically, if you were experiencing whole body muscle or joint pain that was not associated with some other diagnosed condition you were given a diagnosis of fibromyalgia.  As I write this post, things have not changed that much.  Researchers still don't know if fibromyalgia is caused by hormones, chemical imbalances, physical stress, emotional stress, trauma or some other illness.  The good news is that chiropractic treatment can help decrease the pain you feel with fibromyalgia.


Chiropractic care is a very common alternative or complementary treatment for fibromyalgia pain. People use it to treat pain of pressure points, back pain, neck pain, shoulder pain, headaches, and pain from musculoskeletal injuries. Chiropractic treatment may be effective for fibromyalgia because it helps improve pain levels and increase cervical and lumbar ranges of motion. Chiropractic treatment is based on the principle that the body is a self-healing organism. To reduce pain and increase healing, the doctor of chiropractic uses spinal adjustments. The goal is to increase the mobility between spinal vertebrae, which have become restricted, locked, or slightly out of proper position.
Chiropractors do this by using hand adjustments. With gentle pressure or stretching, multiple gentle movements of one area, or specific high-velocity thrusts, the adjustments are said to help return the bones to a more normal position or motion. This return is said to relieve pain and reduce ill health.

Posture and Back Pain

I have said and written many times that most of the patients of my San Diego Chiropractic clinic ended becoming patients because of aches and pains related to bad posture.  Think about how many times that your parents told you to "sit up straight" when you were a kid.  Although they probably didn't have any medical reasons behind this command, the potentially negative health consequences that accompany bad posture make this sitting up straight a reasonable request.

Bad posture can cause neck pain, headaches, back pain, digestive stress, carpal tunnel syndrome type symptoms, irritability and fatigue.  Surveys also indicate that bad posture gives others the opinion that you are not intelligent, lazy and unattractive. Egads!    

Correcting bad posture requires awareness, specific types of exercise, specific kinds of stretches and chiropractic treatment to help improve alignment and balance of the spine. 

Strong Glutes and Chiropractic

One of the common problems that I see in the patients of my San Diego chiropractic practice is weak gluteal muscles.  The gluteal muscles should be the strongest muscles in the body.  In addition to being powerful hip extensors that drive the body forward and upward in activities such as in running and climbing they also help hold our spine in proper alignment.

The problem with us in general is that instead of using our glutes to move our body weight we use them to sit on.  With increase time sitting and less activity time the glutes begin to weaken causing loss of posture, instability of the lower back and increased chance of injury.  When the glutes are weak the body recruits other muscles such as the hamstrings and the larger muscles of the lower back to perform the tasks that are usually handled by the glutes.  This kind of compensation leads to muscular imbalances, poor spinal alignment and back pain or injuries.

For most of us, avoiding hours of sitting each day would require a monumental effort as well as being in control of your work station.  Since this isn't possible in most cases, maintaining healthy spinal alignment requires specific exercises for the gluteus maximus, gluteus medius and gluteus minimus, taking as many breaks from sitting during the day as possible, a structured stretching program and maintenance chiropractic treatment.

Chiropractic and Exercise: Insanity

I always try to express the importance of complete fitness to the patients of my San Diego Chiropractic clinic.  Lets face it, chiropractic care can help you recover from car accident injuries, work injuries and sports injuries and it can be of tremendous benefit in keeping balance and alignment in people who sit at a desk all day but if you don't stretch, don't exercise and don't eat healthy you will not be a healthy person.

The reason that I am writing this post is because I recently began doing the Insanity workout.  I believe that this is my third or maybe fourth time that I have done the Insanity program.  This is also the first time that I will finish it (knock on wood) without injury.  Apparently injury isn't uncommon with the Insanity workout  - you can find this out yourself with a quick Google search that will give nearly one million results for the search phrase "Insanity Injuries".

Each time I have gone through this program I have relied heavily on my chiropractor and acupuncturist to give me the extra supportive care that I need to make it through without significant injury.  Of course, listening to your body is important as well - you have to make sure to make adjustments and avoid or modify exercises that cause pain.  "Working through the pain" is a common mistake that people who exercise make - in reality, there is no such thing as working through the pain.  Pain is always an indication that you have irritation and inflammation in a joint or a muscle.  Some muscle soreness following a workout is a good thing but pain during exercise is not.

Exercise, stretching and a healthy diet will always help you get the most out of your chiropractic care.  You don't have to commit to a program as challenging as Insanity to make improvements in you whole health picture but if you do - exercise safely, we don't want your exercise to be the reason that you need treatment.  For more information regarding the beneficial relationship between chiropractic treatment, exercise, stretching and proper nutrition call us at our San Diego Chiropractic clinic - we would be happy to help.

Chiropractor San Diego

Are you looking for quality chiropractic care?

At my San Diego Chiropractic Clinic we believe in helping you restore and maintain your health – not just with chiropractic care but by teaching you to balance and strengthen your body with stretches, exercises and proper nutrition.

Chiropractic care is natural health care that improves the relationship between your nervous system and your spinal joints.  Misalignments of the vertebral joints cause pinched nerves which result in pain, headaches, back spasms and other symptoms.  Spinal misalignments are called subluxations and are treated with chiropractic adjustments. 


We are a San Diego chiropractic practice and we use this blog and our website to explain to the residents and visitors of San Diego what chiropractors do and what chiropractors don’t do.  We also use these sites to relay information regarding general maintenance of your body in order to promote general health and wellness.

If you are searching for natural treatment methods that will help you get well and stay well while avoiding drugs or surgery, you’ve found the right place!

Whiplash Treatment in San Diego

Rain almost always means that the phone of my San Diego Chiropractic clinic will be ringing with new Whiplash patients.  Today it looks like rain outside even though it is the second week of July - normally a dry time of year in this part of the country.  No doubt there will be people on the road who are in hurry and won't slow down for the wet conditions - this always leads to auto accidents and injuries.

Whiplash is a broad term that is mostly associated with sprain / strain injuries of the muscles and ligaments of the neck.  The whiplash injuries occur when your car either accelerates rapidly such as when your vehicle is hit from behind or when your vehicle slows rapidly which happens if you run into another vehicle or some other object.  Your neck is the most likely injured part of your spine because the muscles in that part of your body are weaker than they are in the rest of your back and because your head and neck are not supported as well by your seat and seat belt like the rest of your back is.

Whiplash can cause neck pain, headaches, ringing in the ears, dizziness, difficulty swallowing and upper back pain.  There are more serious - potentially life threatening injuries associated with whiplash as well.  If you were involved in a whiplash injury we would be happy to consult with you about your injuries. 

Low Back Pain Treatment

As a San Diego Chiropractor I see my share of patients with Low Back Pain. The majority of these patients come to my office to see what it is that I can do for them without really thinking of what they can do for themselves. Chiropractors are the unofficial "back doctors" of the medical community and we can often relieve back pain with very little additional help from the patient so long as they keep their appointments.

That being said, patients that play an active role in the treatment of their back pain tend to heal quicker and get longer lasting results. At my San Diego chiropractic clinic in addition to chiropractic adjustments and therapy my patients are always encouraged - but not pressured - to ice at home, stretch, exercise and take nutritional support.