Peptide Treatment for Fibromyalgia

Fibromyalgia is a condition in which you experience chronic pain in tendons, ligaments and muscles. You develop several tender points on your body, and pain is caused by pressure on those points. The exact cause of fibromyalgia is not known, but one cited reason suggests that when you experience repeated stimulation of nerves, your brain chemistry changes--neuropeptides increase or decrease in your brain and in your spinal fluid, which then sends excessive pain signals to your brain. There are peptide treatments that can help diminish the pain associated with fibromyalgia.

Substance P

• In "Chronic Pain," author Gary W. Jay explains the symptoms associated with fibromyalgia. Jay asserts that women are more likely to get fibromyalgia, but that men and the elderly also can be affected. People who suffer from the condition have a heightened sense of pain and experience sleep disturbances, fatigue, morning stiffness, irritable bowel syndrome, anxiety and painful tender points on the body, even when the spots are touched only lightly. Jay further asserts that the heightened pain that people with fibromyalgia experience may be due to an increase in the substance P, a pain peptide, in your spinal fluid.

  The Substance P peptide sends messages to your brain about pain. If you have fibromyalgia, you may have three times the normal level of Substance P in your spinal fluid. This can cause excessive pain perceptions, which can turn a somewhat mild stimulus into one associated with extreme pain. It is therefore necessary to reduce your levels of Substance P to diminish pain. The use of capsaicin cream on painful areas can help diminish Substance P levels, and it can help to diminish the pain you feel in sore muscles and joints. In addition, in "Mosby's Pathology for Massage Therapists," Dr. Susan G. Salvo explains that massage therapy can also be used for the purpose of reducing Substance P peptides in your system. Massage therapy helps to diminish sleep disturbances in individuals suffering from fibromyalgia, and a course of biweekly massages over 30 days will lower substance P levels.

Opiate Peptides

• Endorphins are opiate peptides created by the body as a natural reaction to stress. These peptides help diminish the pain that you might experience with fibromyalgia, and they help eliminate the feeling of fatigue. Beta-endorphins are often half of normal in individuals suffering from fibromyalgia, which can increase the amount of pain that a person experiences. Therefore, it is necessary to increase endorphin levels.

  In "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Fibromyalgia," authors Lynne Matallana and Dr. Laurence A. Bradley explain how regular exercise can increase endorphins in the body to help reduce pain. Low-impact aerobic exercise and regular stretching cause the body to naturally release endorphins.

Serotonin

• Serotonin is another opiate peptide that helps you maintain regular sleep cycles, and it regulates body temperature, helps with nerve signal transmission, regulates mood and aids the cardiovascular system. If you have fibromyalgia, your serotonin levels can be lower than normal. Reduced serotonin levels are associated with anxiety, chronic headaches and depression. To increase serotonin levels, antidepressants may be prescribed.

  A transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation unit, or TENS unit, a machine that stimulates and fatigues sore muscles via electrotherapy, can be used to trigger the production of serotonin as well as other opiate peptides. The TENS unit is a portable device weighing roughly 12 ounces. Two to four electrodes are connected to the device via wires; the electrodes are attached to tender points on the skin. The painful areas are then stimulated with electricity to fatigue the tense muscles and to cause the natural production of pain-killing opiate peptides.