Many people have to live with a difficult-to-diagnose and debilitating condition: chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). This condition affects over one million Americans, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, being more widespread than various types of cancer. However, many patients have to see different doctors, ruling out other conditions, until they find doctors specializing in chronic fatigue. While there is no cure for CFS, you can improve your quality of life a lot by choosing chiropractic care for chronic fatigue syndrome.
How Is Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Diagnosed?
As we explained in the paragraph above, many patients have to rule out various other conditions before they are diagnosed with CFS. This is due to the varied symptoms, which can be mistaken for very serious conditions, such as stroke, autoimmune disease, or malignant brain tumor. These symptoms include: • Extreme and prolonged fatigue (extending over one day after the end of physical or mental efforts) • Lack of focus (“fuzzy” mind) • Memory loss • Unexplained muscular pain • Joint pain, without redness or swelling, changing from one part of the body to another • Headache • Waking up from a night’s sleep without feeling rested and refreshed. According to doctors specializing in chronic fatigue, women are four times more prone to suffer from this condition than men. The average age of the onset of CFS is between 40 and 50.
How Does Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Change Your Life?
Patients with CFS report a complete change in their usual lifestyle. Chronic fatigue prevents them from being able to work on various days and the number of sick leave days hurts their career. They are also prone to developing depression and becoming isolated, as they are unable to face daily activities such as looking after children, socializing, and being intimate with their partner. Unfortunately, allopathic medicine has only short-term solutions for these people – drugs that alleviate pain and boost their energy levels for a little while. As a result, these patients feel trapped between choosing to live with CFS and its debilitating symptoms and being dependent on various pills.
Try the Alternative: Chiropractic Care for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
A chiropractor may not seem to be the first specialist to see for CFS, but it may be the best option if you want to regain control over your life without taking various drugs all the time. Chiropractic is the branch of medicine that focuses on the whole person, not only the part that hurts. Many symptoms of CFS are confusing to treat separately – so chiropractic care for chronic fatigue syndrome looks at you, as a whole human being. For instance, your chiropractor will recommend:
Spinal Adjustments to Relieve Pain
Pain is the response of nerves to various types of trauma, both external and internal. Most of your nerves go through your spine, as they leave the brain and branch out to various parts of the body. Spinal adjustments represent a big part of chiropractic care for chronic fatigue syndrome. Once pressure and tension are relieved, many patients report an improvement in their condition. They are free of pain and have increased energy levels, without taking any pills.
Adjusting Your Diet
We are what we eat, and most of us cannot say that we are proud of our diets and their results, visible in our bodies. The modern lifestyle, always on the run to get to work, pick up the kids from school, and finish chores makes us choose fast food or even skip meals. A chiropractor will recommend a change in your eating habits, starting with fixed hours for meals, taking you time to enjoy food, and including minerals and vitamins that are known to improve CFS symptoms, such as: • Omega 3 fatty acids – found especially in fish • Magnesium – found in nuts, avocado, and legumes (beans, lentils, peas) • Linoleic acid – found in vegetable oils • Malic acid – found in berries, grapes, apricots, and peaches.
Exercising
Physical exercise is crucial for a healthy life. Chiropractic care for chronic fatigue syndrome, as well as for other conditions, includes a series of daily exercises. Your chiropractor will select these exercises depending on various factors, including other preexisting conditions, your level of fitness, and the ability to do them at home unsupervised.
