Floating Provides Relief from Fibromyalgia Symptoms

While Not a Cure - Floatation Therapy Offers Lasting Relief

By: Jeff Laughlin, MS

The following is an email we received from our affiliate and friend - Inner Vision Float Center in Hilton Head, South Carolina:

"I have been a Registered Nurse for 14 years.  I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia 6 years ago.  I saw an ad for floatation and decided to try it out.  It was one of the best decisions I have made for pain relief.  After a session in the float room, my body feels relaxed and the pain is reduced.  I am grateful to have found floatation to help in my treatment plan for fibromyalgia.  I would recommend the float room for anyone with fibromyalgia or other chronic pain issues."

- Joyce M, RN

What is Fibromyalgia?

Fibromyalgia is a chronic, widespread pain and stiffness in muscles and soft tissues surrounding the joints throughout the body, accompanied by fatigue and chronic sleep disturbances. The disease is fairly common, affecting approximately 2% to 4% of the US population, mostly women.  Although its symptoms are similar to other joint diseases, such as arthritis, fibromyalgia is actually a form of soft tissue or muscular rheumatism that causes pain in the muscles and soft tissues.  The most common sites of pain include the neck, back, shoulders, pelvic girdle, and hands, but any body part can be affected and most people experience a range of symptoms of varying intensities that wax and wane over time.

Many who live with fibromyalgia describe the disease as a flu-like pain that can be severe and constant, a feeling of exhaustion, specific tender points, body aches and muscle stiffness. It can also be accompanied by irritable bowel syndrome, sleep disturbance, headaches, anxiety, depression and a variety of other symptoms.  Many patients suffer with these symptoms for years before getting help.

According to Robert Bennett, Professor of Medicine, Oregon Health Sciences University, fibromyalgia tends to be treated rather dismissively, sometimes with cynical overtones.  The problem for doctors is that fibromyalgia is not a problem that can be understood according to the classic medical model. Dr. Bennett continues,  “I have seen over 5,000 fibromyalgia patients over the past 20 years; most want to be reassured that their symptoms are the product of a "real disease" rather than figments of a fertile imagination--commonly ascribed to the psychological diagnosis such as somatization, hypochondriasis, or depression. The good news is that contemporary research is hot on the track of unraveling the changes that occur within the nervous system of fibromyalgia patients. The basic message is that fibromyalgia cannot be considered a primarily psychological disorder, but as in many chronic conditions, psychological factors may play a role in who becomes disabled and may even up-regulate the central nervous system changes that are the root cause of the problem.”[1]

What Causes or Triggers Fibromyalgia?

Although the cause of fibromyalgia is unknown, researchers believe there may be a link with sleep disturbance, psychological stress, or immune, endocrine, or biochemical abnormalities. Fibromyalgia mainly affects the muscles and the points at which the muscles attach to the bone (at the ligaments and tendons).  While the underlying cause or causes of fibromyalgia still remain a mystery, new research findings continue to bring us closer to understanding the basic mechanisms of fibromyalgia. Most researchers agree that fibromyalgia is a disorder of central processing, where people experience pain amplification due to abnormal sensory processing in the central nervous system.

What are the Symptoms of Fibromyalgia?

Fibromyalgia is characterized by the presence of multiple tender points and a constellation of symptoms including.[2]

• Pain.  The pain of fibromyalgia is profound, widespread and chronic. It knows no boundaries, migrating to all parts of the body and varying in intensity. Fibromyalgia pain has been described as stabbing and shooting pain and deep muscular aching, throbbing, and twitching. Neurological complaints such as numbness, tingling, and burning are often present and add to the discomfort of the patient. The severity of the pain and stiffness is often worse in the morning. Aggravating factors that affect pain include cold/humid weather, non-restorative sleep, physical and mental fatigue, excessive physical activity, physical inactivity, anxiety and stress.
• Fatigue.  In today's world many people complain of fatigue; however, the fatigue of fibromyalgia is much more than being tired. It is an all-encompassing exhaustion that interferes with even the simplest daily activities. It feels like every drop of energy has been drained from the body, which at times can leave the patient with a limited ability to function both mentally and physically.
• Sleep problems.  Many fibromyalgia patients have an associated sleep disorder that prevents them from getting deep, restful, restorative sleep. Medical researchers have documented specific and distinctive abnormalities in the deep sleep of fibromyalgia patients. During sleep, individuals with fibromyalgia are constantly interrupted by bursts of awake-like brain activity, limiting the amount of time they spend in deep sleep.
• Other symptoms.  Additional symptoms may include: irritable bowel and bladder, headaches and migraines, restless legs syndrome (periodic limb movement disorder), impaired memory and concentration, anxiety, depression, neurological symptoms, and impaired coordination.

Treatment for Fibromyalgia:

One of the most important factors in improving the symptoms of fibromyalgia is for the patient to recognize the need for lifestyle adaptation.  Most people are resistant to change because it implies adjustment, discomfort and effort.  However, in the case of fibromyalgia, change can bring about recognizable improvement in function and quality of life.  Becoming educated about fibromyalgia gives the individual more potential for improvement.

Conventional medical intervention may be only part of a potential treatment program. Alternative treatments, nutrition, relaxation techniques, and exercise play an important role in fibromyalgia treatment as well.  Each individual should, with the input of a healthcare practitioner, consider establishing a multifaceted and individualized approach that works for them.

The Relief of Floatation Therapy

Yoga, Tai Chi and other forms of meditation and visualization are common practices that many people use to reduce stress.  But when chronic pain is involved, you often need help – help in the form of relaxation therapy.  The idea behind relaxation therapy is to rid your body of accumulated stress hormones (like cortisol and adrenaline) while increasing endorphins (your body’s self-produced pain medicine). One of the best and most pleasurable relaxation therapies practiced today is called “Floating”. 

As Joyce noted in the introduction to this article, floatation therapy is a complimentary treatment that can be used in an overall treatment plan for dealing with the symptoms of fibromyalgia.  Floating has been shown to be effective in providing relief from the following fibromyalgia symptoms:

• Pain.  Floating is a proven and powerful treatment for pain. And when you combine floating with meditation and / or visualization, the results can be dramatic!  According to a study done by Health and Clinical Psychology Magazine, when floating is combined with visualization, 81% of patients saw significantly reduced pain levels.[3]

• Fatigue.  The deep relaxation created by floating allows the body to return to its natural state of health and to combat the harmful and fatiguing effects of stress. Floating has been proven to reduce the levels of a number of stress-related neurochemicals in the body, such as adrenaline and cortisol. These substances can cause tension, anxiety, and irritability along with fatigue.  Floating helps to wash away these negative hormones and in their place, flood the blood stream with natural calming and pain relieving endorphins.  As the chemistry of the body changes there is a decrease in muscle tension, blood pressure, heart rate and oxygen consumption. Blood vessels dilate, increasing cardio-vascular efficiency and the supply of oxygen and nutrients to every cell in the body.  Floating refreshes, repairs and rejuvenates the body and mind from the inside out.

• Sleep problems.  Scientific research has shown that floating for one hour is the equivalent of two – four hours of deep, restful sleep. And done regularly, floating helps reset your body’s circadian rhythms and enables you to find deep, restful sleep on your own.[4]

• Other symptoms.  The human body has a very effective self-monitoring and self-regulating system that is constantly working to maintain the body in its optimum state of well-being.  When given the chance to reset itself and find its natural homeostasis, the body will naturally heal itself. Research indicates that many of floating's most powerful effects come from its tendency to allow the body return to its natural state of homeostasis. When we float, we take away all competing stimuli and allow the body to devote all of its energies to restoring itself to its normal state: energetic, vital, healthy and joyful.

Floatation therapy can be part of a healthful lifestyle that brings balance and centering to the mind and body while substituting vitality and rejuvenation for the pain and fatigue that can seem omnipresent to someone living with fibromyalgia.

What Does Floating Feel Like

Floating consists of lying in a shallow pool of salt water, within a room that limits external distractions such as light and noise. The water and air temperature are set precisely at 94 degrees (the surface temperature of your skin). The water is saturated with Epsom Salt (more dense than the Dead Sea) that cradles your body and releases you from gravity’s pull. The feeling is one of absolute calm and lightness – like nothing you have ever experienced.

Simply lie back, relax and practice any form of meditation, visualization or simply breathe deeply – and in no time at all, chronic pain subsides. Fatigue and depression lift. And you will sleep more deeply at night. All of which help contribute to a more relaxed, healthy, pain-free body.  

For more information on how floatation therapy can help provide relief from the symptoms of fibromyalgia contact:

Driftaway Floatation Spas, Burlington, MA, (781) 270-0077; or

Inner Vision Float Center, Hilton Head South Carolina (843) 682-4400 

Information for this article came from these additional sources:

Winchester Hospital Pain Center: http://www.childrenshospital.org/az/Site896/mainpageS896P0.html

The National Fibromyalgia Association: http://www.fibromyalgiaaware.org

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