Lyme and Fibromyalgia have one thing in common, that is, a link to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) which is a pain condition affecting the whole-body. This article explores lyme disease and CFS, and see where magnet therapy can help.
Lyme disease
Lyme disease is believed to be an insect borne disease caused by bacteria. It is a painful condition where symptoms include fatigue and pain. If not treated, the infection can spread throughout the body including nerves and organs. We are frequently asked about effects of magnet therapy for Lyme disease, mainly from our visitors from the US and Europe. Australia doesn’t have many cases, so it is fairly safe here with regards to Lyme, but plenty of ticks in subtropical regions for sure! However, in countries like United Kingdom around 13% of the population is believed to be infected.
Lyme Disease can be misdiagnosed and mis-treated
BBC recently did a great job raising awareness about misdiagnosis of CFS as lyme disease. According to this NewScientist article, private laboratories in the US and Europe offer sham tests for Lyme disease that are likely to give false positive results. The rabbit hole goes deeper, there are antibiotic-resistant strains of lyme as well. Also it is possible to misdiagnose CFS as Lyme in areas where Lyme is unknown. It’s no wonder that we frequently see people confused with their diagnosis and wanting to try natural solutions such as magnetic field therapy to help with their symptoms.
Aftermath of Lyme disease and path to rehabilitation
Post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome (PTLDS) could be an after-effect of Lyme, and many patients require support to get back to normal as they continue to feel pain and fatigue even after antibiotic treatment. As per a research review, there are insufficient studies to draw conclusions regarding the efficacy of repeated antibiotic therapy​1​. The author recommends using natural diet which acts against inflammation to treat PTLDS at home.
Reduced energy and feeling fatigued is more dominant than pain in case of CFS compared to fibromyalgia. Many patients see multiple therapists and specialists with untreatable back pain. Chronic fatigue can affect athletes​2​ and can be a career ender for champions. The threat of Lyme disease also exists for those runners and triathletes in wooded land environments​3​.
Fatigue symptoms occur as the nerve signals of the sympathetic nervous system become overactive​4​. But after trigger point therapy to release and balance the iliopsoas muscles, sometimes the pain is relieved almost instantly. The book Front to Back will help you to understand how the iliopsoas muscle contributes to back pain and self-management strategies such as stretches.
Physiotherapy is an important treatment method supplementing medication and the recovery process. Physiotherapists treating fatigued and pain patients can surely appreciate the advancements in pain relief devices today. Exercise is frustrating and meaningless (pun intended) for most people, sports are way better as they additionally enhance the mental dimension of health. But to get there, solutions are needed which which have side-effects.
How magnetic field therapy can help in Lyme disease
In case of Lyme disease itself, there is no valid research publication that shows magnetic therapy can act as an antibiotic.
Based on the research evidence, magnet therapy can reduce pain and inflammation and is a great adjunct therapy for reducing pain-related symptoms of several chronic pain conditions including fibromyalgia and arthritis.
Magnet therapy for chronic pain has plenty of research but there is currently no research on magnet therapy for lymes treatment. Pain conditions such as fibromyalgia have been found to benefit with the use of therapeutic magnetic mattress pads in clinical trials.
Static magnetic fields are considered safe even for very high magnetic induction, whereas the harmful effects of electromagnetic fields on the human body with long-term exposure has been questioned.
- 1.Cairns V. Supporting patients with long-term problems after Lyme disease. BJGP Open. 2020;4(3). doi:10.3399/bjgpopen20X101102
- 2.Budgett R. Fatigue and underperformance in athletes: the overtraining syndrome. Br J Sports Med. 1998;32(2):107-110. doi:10.1136/bjsm.32.2.107
- 3.DuPrey K. Lyme disease in athletes. Curr Sports Med Rep. 2015;14(1):51-55. doi:10.1249/JSR.0000000000000118
- 4.Tanaka M, Tajima S, Mizuno K, et al. Frontier studies on fatigue, autonomic nerve dysfunction, and sleep-rhythm disorder. J Physiol Sci. Published online September 29, 2015:483-498. doi:10.1007/s12576-015-0399-y
