Sometimes with my fibromyalgia I have pain in various parts of my body. Although I do believe in taking medication I like to try as many other remedies as possible. Generally I try these techniques or others before I get to the point I try medication. .
One of the places I can experience pain is in my legs. This isn’t necessarily pain from the trigger points. I have learned to look at several things, that sometimes. I just forget about when I feel that pain.
The first thing I look at is what position I am sleeping in. This is probably the easiest solution. If I am not in the correct position I may not hurt the next day. If I continue to sleep in the wrong position I will start to hurt though.
My best position is on my side with a pillow between my knees. The pillow allows my hips to be distributed evenly and I sleep much better. I have friends with fibromyalgia who sleep with a body pillow as it allows their hips and shoulders to be even.
The second thing I do is try to pay more attention to what I am eating. I do love sweets. A little on and occasional basis is ok but sweets every day make me hurt. When I realize I am doing this I stop, I also become diligent about adding a little protein to my diet. Every three hours I have something, a boiled egg or cheese stick if nothing else.
The other thing I have successfully tried is a over the counter insert in my shoes. I have had particular success with the gel inserts. They help me correct small problems with my posture that have caused me pain.
Finally I reflect on when I am feeling pain. For instance sometimes I feel pain after I engage in some low impact exercise. If this is true then I need to and do spend some more time warming up those muscles. Again very gently warming them up with something like a slow walk.
Of course medication is always something I can turn to when my fibromyalgia pain is too overwhelming but these are several of the techniques that I might try first. It sometimes takes me a couple of tries to figure out what will work. Other times I feel no shame in going directly to medication.
