Other changes in lifestyle are very important. Both a daily low impact aerobic exercise program and stretching exercises are extremely helpful in maintaining muscle tone, improving sleep, decreasing muscle spasms, and decreasing pain. Physicians also recommend avoidance of caffeine and Nutrasweet. Good ingestion of water is encouraged. For some people with fibromyalgia, lifestyle changes are not sufficient to improve their pain and fatigue levels, and a multidisciplinary approach including psychological intervention with cognitive imagery, relaxation techniques, and coping skills training can be very helpful.
Massage therapy can also be extremely helpful in diminishing pain levels.
There are other techniques such as trigger point injections or use of electrical stimulation units such as the alpha stim or Estim, which again can diminish pain levels. No single right treatment of fibromyalgia exists, but we find that a multidisciplinary approach including good sleep hygiene, good exercise, coping skills training, and massage can be very helpful to diminish pain and fatigue.