Fibromyalgia is a type of chronic pain syndrome. The primary symptoms of the disease are pain and tenderness in soft tissue and muscles. Other primary symptoms of the disease include fatigue and sleep disturbances. Some of the secondary symptoms include stiffness, headaches, facial pain, tingling or numbness, problems with balance, chest pain and discomfort in the abdominal area.

Fibromyalgia most often afflicts women who are between 34 and 56 years of age. An estimated 10 to 20 percent of those who suffer from fibromyalgia are severely debilitated by it.

A study by Mayo Clinic scientists in 2005 found that acupuncture is beneficial in improving many of the symptoms of fibromyalgia including pain, fatigue and the anxiety that often accompanies both. The findings from this study were presented at the International Association for the Study of Pain’s 11th World Congress on Pain in Sydney, Australia.

An alternative health practitioner needs to do a complete assessment of a fibromyalgia patient in order to determine what imbalances the person suffers from. There are certain patterns that become obvious when an individual has fibromyalgia and this is what the practitioner checks for.

Once the assessment is done, the treatment can then be geared to address the unique problems facing the individual. Acupuncture treatments can then commence. The practitioner may deem it best for acupuncture treatments to be used in conjunction with Chinese herbal medicine in order to help to control and manage the level of pain, improve sleep patterns and give the person the energy they require.

Acupuncture is used to improve the chi or vital energy in the body and to restore equilibrium which in turn will allow the body’s synchronicity to work as it is meant to.