Tanning Treatments for Fibromyalgia

Tanning Treatments and Fibromyalgia

Fibromyalgia is a chronic pain disease that affects as much two percent of all adults in the United States of America, and the overwhelming majority of those two percent are women. Fibromyalgia is also more likely to develop in older individuals as well.

Symptoms of fibromyalgia include pain in the muscles and ligaments throughout the body, in addition to fatigue, a difficulty sleeping, and more pain in the eleven different pressure points throughout the body.

These pressure points are located specifically in the back of the head, the shoulders, the chest, neck, elbows, hips, and the knees.

There is usually no noticeable ‘starting point’ for when fibromyalgia begins, but in some individuals, it begins after a physical or emotional accident has occurred.

While there is no known cure for fibromyalgia, there are many different kinds of treatments available to relieve the symptoms as much as possible. Tanning treatments may be one that fibromyalgia patients should explore.

First of all, tanning treatments for fibromyalgia are not universally accepted by all medical researchers and scientists. But because fibromyalgia patients from all over the country are seeking whatever relief they can get for their pain, fatigue, and stress, tanning treatments are a viable option.

Keep in mind that fibromyalgia patients find it very difficult to perform every day, basic tasks.  With that in mind, it would make sense that a fibromyalgia sufferer would seek whatever possible treatment is available.

Relief from Pain in Tanning Treatments

By way and large, the most common form of pain relief that fibromyalgia patients seek out is basic medication, with exercise being a close second.

Unfortunately, due to our limited knowledge of fibromyalgia, medication and exercise are not providing all of the pain relief that fibromyalgia patients need. But how well can tanning treatments provide that critical pain relief?

The reason why fibromyalgia patients feel pain relief from tanning is because of the ultraviolet rays produced by the tanning bed. This relief from pain is not instant but instead occurs overtime.

Patients who use tanning services for between one to two months should begin to see results. The reason why ultraviolet rays can provide pain relief is because the rays set off a reaction in the human skin.

The skin releases molecules caused endorphins, after consistent exposure to the ultraviolet rays. When the endorphins are released, it helps to relax the human body and thus reduce pain levels.

Besides feeling a relief from pain, a patient will also feel a greater sense of health and happiness. Therefore, the effect of the tanning treatment can be just as much emotional as it is physical, a major plus to fibromyalgia patients who suffer from stress equally as much as pain.

All right, so prolonged exposure to tanning treatments can help a fibromyalgia patient’s physical and emotional well being. Does that still mean it is the right course of action for a fibromyalgia patient to take?

Unfortunately, medical researchers are divided over this issue.  It’s no secret that being exposed to the ultraviolet rays on a tanning bed dramatically increases a person’s chance of developing melanoma, which in turn, basically increases the patient’s chance of developing skin cancer.

So just as one problem is being eliminated, and entirely new and even more dangerous one can potentially be created in the process.  Is it really worth, therefore, to use tanning beds as a solution for fibromyalgia pain relief?

Tanning Treatments for Fibromyalgia

Finding the Right Pain Relief

For fibromyalgia patients, everyday is a battle with pain, fatigue and stress. But an equally big battle that those same patients have to fight daily is finding the right source of pain relief and pain management.

The right solution for relief from pain is really dependent on the individual patient.  The idea of a tanning bed serving as a valuable relief from pain is only the latest development in the individual patient’s search for relief.

As a result, there are many services that provide tanning treatments and market it as the right solution for fibromyalgia patients.

While there is no denying that some patients who use this tanning treatment method see unexpected results in a month to two month time duration, that doesn’t mean that it’s the right solution.

As we have seen, there are a number of critical risks that should come into conflict with a patient’s decision for using tanning treatments as the right method for treating pain.

Do you really want to see your chances of developing melanoma increase by nearly seventy five percent, and thus your risk of developing cancer increase little by little as well?  Probably not.

A fibromyalgia sufferer’s search for true pain relief may never end until medical researchers and scientists can find a cure, which could be years to come.

Until then, supposedly ‘new’ and ‘innovative’ techniques for relieving fibromyalgia pain should be looked at with caution.

This can be hard for fibromyalgia sufferers, since new and cool sounding treatments for treating fibromyalgia come rarely.

When looking for the right pain relief, a fibromyalgia patient should thoroughly research each and every treatment option that pops up into view.

Weigh the risks vs. rewards, and if you decide that the potential rewards of a treatment outweigh the risks, try out the treatment on your own (giving it time) and see how well the pain and stress leaves your body.

There is a very big and impending need for the right fibromyalgia treatment, but a tanning treatment using ultraviolet rays, no matter how cool and innovative it sounds, is unfortunately a treatment that comes with too many risks.

Yes, you may feel better physically after prolonged treatment, and yes, you may feel better emotionally as well.

But look at everything with caution, and know that there are other less risky treatments that can give you the same kind of temporary physical and emotional pain relief as well. All you have to do is keep searching.

REFERENCES

http://www.fibromyalgia-symptoms.org/controversial-tanning-treatment.html

http://abclocal.go.com/story?section=news/health/your_health&id=7357530

http://www.thepaincenter.com/can-tanning-beds-reduce-your-pain

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*