UV treatment provides relief for fibromyalgia

Doctors know a lot about fibromyalgia. Yet the cause and best treatment for the condition remain a mystery to medical professionals. In a small study, American dermatologists discovered that exposure to ultraviolet light makes fibromyalgia patients feel better and also seems to reduce their pain.

Fibromyalgia patients suffer from chronic pain in their muscles and connective tissue, as well as stiffness, fatigue, sleep problems and bouts of low mood. Current medical measurement methods find no abnormalities in the muscles and connective tissue of people with fibromyalgia. Scientists therefore do not know exactly what is happening in the body of a fibromyalgia patient and therefore do not know if and how they can cure the condition.

According to trials, physical exercise, both in the form of strength training and endurance training, can provide relief for fibromyalgia. Both forms of exercise reduce pain and improve quality of life. Endurance training also reduces feelings of depression in this group.

Another possible non-medical way to improve the lives of fibromyalgia patients is treatment with UV light. This was discovered by dermatologists at Wake Forest University in a small study involving 19 fibromyalgia patients as test subjects.

In the American experiment, the researchers treated some of the patients with ultraviolet light three times a week for eight weeks, while the others underwent the same number of placebo treatments.

After just two weeks, the subjects treated with ultraviolet light reported a reduction in pain. At the same time, the patients in the ultraviolet group felt better in a general sense, more relaxed and less stressed, nervous and tense.