Fatigue, Muscle Pain. Taking Physiotherapy For Whiplash Injury. Treatment?

Posted on Tue, 23 Jul 2013

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Tue, 23 Jul 2013 Answered on

Wed, 21 Aug 2013 Last reviewed on

Question : I have suspected for years that I might have fibromyalgia but have resisted pursuing a diagnosis. I'm dealing with more and more pain and wonder if there is any benefit to a diagnosis - are there actual treatments? I'm somewhat afraid of a label. I do have occasional days of fatigue, especially following a day of increased activity. When I have a therapeutic massage, I am shocked at how much pain is in my muscles - it never used to be that way. I was very active when I was younger, and used to run (completed a half-marathon in 2007). I am worried that I will never feel well and fit again. I'm currently in physio after a whip-lash injury four weeks ago and find it hard to explain how the acute pain overlies the chronic pain. The physiotherapist looks at me as though I am making it up. It is very frustrating. I do work outside of the home, and just live with it but feel a though it is beginning to overwhelm me.

Answered by Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar (2 hours later)

Hello;

Thanks for your query.

It sounds like you have fatigue and muscle aches. This can be caused by many medical issues. One to consider is sleep apnea, sleep deprivation and possible fibromyalgia, I would not stick with that diagnosis until you have had a thorough eval to rule out everything else. I find that patients who have a diagnosis of fibromyalgia have such because the doctor couldn't find anything else.

Massage helps, getting a lot of sleep helps and non steroidal pain medications like Advil and Alleve help.

I hope this answers your questions. Let me know if I can help with anything else.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Raju A.T