In fibromyalgia the fight-or-flight nervous system has gone haywire, like a smoke alarm that never turns off.
The sympathetic nervous system (SNS) is hyperactive in fibromyalgia. In my opinion this abnormality causes a chain reaction that leads to all of the symptoms of fibromyalgia. But my chain reaction theory is just that, a theory and it is
Imagine walking alone at night when you suddenly hear heavy footsteps behind you. Instantly your brain's stress response is activated, as it prepares your body to survive this potential threat. Adrenaline pumps, muscles tighten, heart rate speeds up
We can measure the level of sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activation by the body's response to changes in position like standing up. It's a bit of a Goldilocks situation. Just the right amount of SNS signals,
There is another way we can gauge sympathetic nervous system activity that does not involve any fancy electrodes or heart monitors. We can just ask folks about their symptoms! In fibromyalgia the sympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system is
One of the most important ways we know that the fibromyalgia stress response system is broken is from abnormal heart rate variability (HRV) studies. At least 14 different studies and two systematic review articles have found low HRV in FM,
The nervous sweating most of us experience during public speaking is caused by extra sympathetic nerve activity. Heat or stress triggers the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) to send more "sweat" messages to the skin. The sympathetic relay stations
No matter how you measure sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activity in fibromyalgia it is abnormal, including how much electricity is passing through sympathetic nerves headed to the muscle. This is called muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) and it gives us
Brain imaging studies support the idea that the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) is hyperactive in fibromyalgia. To understand the brain evidence we first need to explore how the brain normally regulates the SNS, and then look at the ways this
The sympathetic nervous system (SNS) is hyperactive in fibromyalgia. In my opinion this abnormality causes a chain reaction that leads to all of the symptoms of fibromyalgia. But my chain reaction theory is just that, a theory and it is
Imagine walking alone at night when you suddenly hear heavy footsteps behind you. Instantly your brain's stress response is activated, as it prepares your body to survive this potential threat. Adrenaline pumps, muscles tighten, heart rate speeds up