Are leg cramps and fibromyalgia connected? If you suffer from leg cramps, do you also happen to have a diagnosis of fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, diabetes, RA, MS, Hashimoto’s or any other chronic illness? Does one lead to the other? Making the connection between cramps and chronic illness can help bring them to an end.
No, of course, you don’t have to have a chronic health challenge to experience leg cramps or spasms. They can happen for athletes and couch potatoes, juveniles and the geriatric set alike.
But, if you do have a chronic health challenge, your connections to leg cramps and spasms are significantly greater.
Clarifications to come.
If you haven’t already, please check out my Fibromyalgia Leg Cramps and Spasms post. In it, I take a look at my own history of leg cramps as well as provide a list of potential TRIGGERS AND a full list of potential REMEDIES.
From the article above, you’ve gained an understanding of how and why cramps happen. You even have a wide variety of options to try to stop them. But do you get the connection to chronic illness?
When it comes to the fibromyalgia and chronic illness body, here’s what you need to know.
Making Connections to Fibromyalgia Dysfunction and Leg Cramps
If there were a painting to represent the fibromyalgia body, I believe one that’s Picasso-ish would make sense. It’d have blurry lines here, disjointed parts there. And a whole lotta confusing brush strokes to make you wonder what’s going on.
In the fibromyalgia body,
there’s so much to analyze.
And so much of the data to review looks skewed!
The purpose of this short article is not to get caught up in the overwhelming volume of data. Instead, it’s to simplify.
In short, the fibromyalgia (and any chronic illness) body is out of whack. I could go on and list (ad infinitum) in what ways we’re dysfunctional, but instead I’ll condense. Here are a few basic areas of whole body, widespread dysfunction.
They include but are not limited to –
- Hydration/Dehydration
- Gut Dysfunction
- Nutritional Deficiencies and Intolerances
- Toxin Load
- Hormonal Imbalance
- Stress (Reactions and Over-reactions)
For you savvy readers, you’ll notice that comparisons of this list correlate to many of the triggers and causes detailed in the Leg Cramp article.
Doesn’t it make sense that the same dysfunctions that help to trigger cramps also add to the overall dysfunction of chronic illness?
Root-level dysfunctions are the foundation of most fibromyalgia and chronic illness symptoms.
Why Uncover Dysfunction?
Once we understand where our most glaring root-level dysfunctions exist, we’re in a better place from which to take action. This gives us the edge.
Review the following general categories of dysfunction and see if there are areas where you need to focus your healing efforts.
- Have you addressed your hydration levels? It’s all about what you drink, how much you drink, and even when you drink. Downloadable Hydration Tip Sheet
- What about digestive problems such as leaky gut, candida/yeast overgrowth, SIBO, pathogen and bacterial infections and more? Have you addressed these powerful underlying problems that link to nearly every fibromyalgia and chronic illness symptom? Gut Health and Fibromyalgia
- Are you aware of key nutrients that may be missing from your diet? Are you getting enough antioxidants and phytonutrients through fresh, nutrient-dense, fiber-rich foods? Are you also eliminating or minimizing foods that your body reacts to? What foods are you sensitive to? Common Nutritional Deficiencies for Fibromyalgia
- Do you move your body regularly to help reduce and eliminate toxins? Have you been exposed to plastics, chemicals, and heavy metals? Study on Fibromyalgia and Metal Exposure
- Are your hormones happy? How’s your thyroid and adrenals? Do you have significant imbalances? Common Deficiencies for Fibromyalgia Including Hormone Imbalances
- Is your stress addressed? Everyone has stress, but are you incorporating daily practices (including sleep) to help deal with your cortisol levels and your brain’s tendency toward looping thoughts? 10 Tips to Tame Your Stress Tiger
Fibromyalgia Dysfunction Clean-Up
For a good overall article on systemic dysfunction, check out this one which includes a list of 77 Symptoms.
“Cleaning up” this dysfunction can help you uncover damaging behaviors and circumstances, remove triggers for cramps and spasms (among other symptoms), and help to rebuild and restore health and vitality to your life.
What root-level areas of dysfunction to you believe are related to your leg cramps?
Where do you plan to begin your healing journey?
