MobiliserFibromyalgia and The Mobiliser
One person's report on using the Mobiliser to tackle Pain from Fibromyalgia:
A report to give hope to those in pain with this troubling condition.
Background
Over twelve years ago the chronic headaches, muscle pain and tiredness I was experiencing was finally diagnosed as Fibromyalgia.
Fibromyalgia is a common condition characterized by widespread pain in joints, muscles, tendons, and other soft tissues. In addition I suffer from the other common conditions linked with fibromyalgia including fatigue, morning stiffness, sleep problems, headaches, depression, anxiety and irritable bowel syndrome.
Other related symptoms I experience are poor lymphatic drainage as a result of the tight muscles often leading to swelling and fluid retention and difficulty in loosing the weight which has gradually piled on as a result of little or no exercise together with a sluggish metabolism. Pain increases when it is hot and humid, cold and damp or in extreme changes from hot to cold.
Twelve months ago all my effort went into getting through the working day with the chronic pain and extreme fatigue leaving little or no energy to build up any sort of regular exercise routine to help relieve the symptoms. Strong over the counter painkillers (on average two tablets 3 times a day) weekly osteopathic, deep massage or acupuncture treatments enabled me to get through every day.
The depression and anxiety were not only a symptom of the chronic pain but the fear that in my mid forties I was struggling to lead a “normal” life. I wondered whether I was going to end up disabled (common amongst fibromyalgia sufferers which also has strong links to ME) and how I was going to manage the pain if I was not able to afford the expensive treatments or if the practitioners I had learnt to trust were no longer able to treat me.
Over the years I have purchased a number of products to help ease the pain or loosen tight muscles. A mini shiatsu massager ( vicious, hard balls which only did one spot if you could get to it and I ended up bruising myself), a tens machine (limited relief on specific spots again), heat pads, heated massaging car seats, hand massagers, wooden massagers, magnetic bracelets, shoe inserts and copper bracelets and an electronic acupuncture machine. I have swallowed vitamins, Chinese herbs, Chinese tablets, detoxifying potions and pills to no avail.
I have always spent approx 30 mins every morning doing some basic stretching exercises and a couple of manageable yoga moves. However, I have done little else as all attempts to attend a regular class or go swimming have been too much to manage because of the overwhelming tiredness that I experienced.
Last year after testing the Mobiliser there was a fundamental change in my life.
Experience
Initial
This was the first product I had tried which gave me an all over treatment. Although I am in constant pain I become even more tense, increasing the muscle tightness and therefore pain if I am touched lightly or a massage treatment is too soft. On my first session I experienced the wonderful “clicks” as the muscles pop and loosen. The treatment was deep and after years of treatment I was instantly aware that the rollers were reaching exactly the right places. The heater helped to relax my muscles and me. After the first couple of treatments I didn't use the protective mattress or the headrest but did need a towel under my coccyx area as this did become quite sore. After a few weeks this was not necessary.
Psychologically I had an immediate sense of freedom from the dependence on my practitioner to loosen my body and relieve my pain and I felt positive about my ability to manage my condition and move forward.
As a coincidence my practitioner was in Japan for over 6 weeks having further training and when I finally saw him for the first time, although in real need of treatment, I was not in as much pain as I had been in the past after a long break from treatment and I had managed to reduce the number of painkillers I was taking. He immediately noticed that the condition of my muscles was much better than he would have expected.
Mid-Term
The ability to get a deep massage treatment at home whenever I wanted turned my life around. I was managing my own pain and had days when I took far less and occasionally, no painkillers. The number of incidents when I was in so much pain that I would end up in bed and in tears reduced. If the pain woke me in the night I could get up and go on the bed rather than stay awake all night and end up taking the painkillers which would reduce the pain but wake me up even more as they contained caffeine.
The initial euphoria I had experienced did diminish as I realised, as always, that this was not a cure. No matter how grounded and realistic you are, there is always that hope that you will eliminate a chronic condition and become “normal” again. The improvements I saw also became normal and therefore I went through a period of “managing” my life with the use of the bed and forgetting that things had been worse, and not moving further forward.
At the end of last year and the beginning of this year my practitioner had some personal problems and cancelled a number of my treatments. Although disappointed I had my mattress and for the first time didn't panic about how I would manage. I attended a couple of Christmas parties and looked forward to them instead of panicking about how much pain I would be in and if I would manage the late nights, working and socialising. This made me realise how far I had come using the bed to manage my condition and I realised that I was ready to try some exercise and try and build up my fitness levels, the lack of which had been another great source of distress to me.
I tried doing some walking to get some exercise and looked around for some classes to attend to try and build up my fitness. I kept getting shin splints and pains in the compartments of my legs walking around the hilly roads of Amersham and I still couldn't manage classes after work as it exhausts me too much.
As my husband was entering the London Marathon and the only exercise I found I could really manage without too much pain was walking we purchased a treadmill in February 2003.
Now
When I first started using the treadmill I used it for 20mins. I built up to 30mins, then 45mins. On a good day I can walk and run for an hour reaching a max speed of 4.2 miles an hour. I have managed three sessions in one week on a number of occasions. I have had a couple of weeks where I was too tired to do anything apart from using the mattress.
Sometimes I've had the energy and the mindset to go straight out in the garden when I get home from work and when doing the gardening at the weekends I've been able to get on my mattress to reduce the pain and stiffness. Before the mattress I was able to do less and less in my garden, which is a passion and great stress reliever for me and had given up all attempts at serious exercise.
I'm getting more benefit from the treatment with my practitioner who is consistently remarking on the improvement in my muscles and I am not regressing as quickly between treatments. I have gone from weekly to fortnightly and sometimes every three weeks. My family have noticed that I have more good days than bad and there have been a number of occasions when I have had to share my bed with my husband when he has done too much gardening and had to fight him for a turn when he suffered a prolapsed disc 6 weeks before the marathon. The bed helped his recovery too.
There has been a huge leap in my level of fitness from this time last year and my ability to manage my condition without the support of a practitioner and painkillers. I still have bad days but they have been manageable. I have not had a single incident when I was in so much pain that I have broken down in tears and ended up in my bed as soon as I get in from work since last summer. Although I still suffer from IBS the number of bad flare ups have reduced considerably. Although it is the combination of everything that has led to my current status there is no doubt in my mind that it is the use of the mattress which has moved me from steady regression to the improved state I am in today and gives me the ability, support and focus to improve even more in the future.
I need to be more disciplined about using the mattress every day as I do have days when I don't use it when the pain is not so bad. Sometimes I am so tense that the pain feels as though it is in every nerve ending and I cannot use the mattress as it increases the tension. However this is fairly unusual and I have realised that earlier use of the mattress may have prevented things getting that bad and have not had a day like that for some time.
As I stated earlier the Mobiliser is not a cure but an aid to pain relief and stress management. The initial cost to purchase the mattress has been far outweighed by the benefits for me. The improvements in my health and the degree of control I feel it has given me back over my own body has been an inspiration to me. I have recommended to a number of people that they investigate if this is suitable for their condition. I truly understand how difficult living with pain can be and how the physical and psychological impact of finding something which can support the management and control of pain and improve quality of life is invaluable.