If you're one of the millions of Americans suffering from fibromyalgia, the answer to your chronic pain isn't on a drugstore shelf.
But it might be out in your garden, and it's not even something you're growing.
A new study finds patients suffering from this often- devastating condition can get significant relief by simply boosting the amount of moderate activity in their lives... like spending 30 minutes gardening each day.
But if that's not your speed, nearly any minor activity boost will do--pick something you enjoy, and then get ready to kiss some of that hard-to-beat pain goodbye.
Researchers divided 84 fibromyalgia patients into two groups: One group received information and support, while the patients in the other were asked to choose their own daily activity.
No one was asked to run a marathon or start lifting weights –-the volunteers were just told to choose an activity intense enough to cause heavy breathing, but not too intense to prevent conversation, for 30 minutes a day, five to seven days per week.
The activities ranged from simple walking to gardening... but if you plan to give this a try, just be sure to choose something you like since the more you enjoy an activity, the more likely you are to stick to it.
And when you hear about the results, you'll want to stick to it--because the participants who finished 12 weeks of that daily moderate activity had significantly less pain than those in the support and information group.
That's especially important when you consider that many doctors still treat fibromyalgia like the medical equivalent of the Loch Ness Monster. They might not come right out and say it, but many of them aren't convinced the condition even exists.
Try telling that to anyone coping with a lifetime of chronic pain.
The truth is, fibromyalgia affects up to 6 million Americans, mostly women. And until recently, most of them have had no place to turn.
That's been changing... and not for the better. Several drugs recently have been approved for fibromyalgia, despite the fact that they're expensive and come with terrible and even potentially fatal side effects.
And for all that, they don't even provide much relief. On the whole, these meds are estimated to be only around 35 percent effective.
But there are much better--not to mention safer--ways to get the relief you're looking for without meds, including that activity boost I just described.
Another new study finds that yoga-style meditative breathing can help ease fibromyalgia pain, but this one has a catch: It only works in women who have positive feelings.
It's a heck of a catch, because it can be awfully hard to feel positive when you're battling pain. But if you can find a way to feel those good vibrations despite the fibromyaglia, then meditative breathing could be an option for you.
The study also found that meditative breathing can help healthy women overcome other forms of pain.
For most people, the most effective fibromyalgia relief comes from combining several treatments... so in addition to an activity boost or meditative breathing, consider some of the terrific nutritional therapies out there.
One option is the famous Myers Cocktail, a potent nutritional blend delivered intravenously.
Dr. Jonathan Wright went into detail on this treatment in his Nutrition & Healing newsletter, where he also discussed lithium therapy and herbal remedies for fibromyalgia.
Be sure to find an experienced holistic medical doctor for these treatments.
And remember, just because the mainstream doesn't have the answers doesn't mean those answers don't exist.
On a mission for your health,
Ed Martin
Editor, House Calls
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