The following are miscellaneous questions and answers regarding CMP. Contact us if you have a question you'd like answered. Select from the table below for more FAQ's.

• How Many People Get CMP
• How Do I Find a Doctor
• How Do I Find a Support Group
• What is Homeopathy
• Is Homeopathy Regulated
• What is Naturopathic Medicine
• What is Acupuncture
• What is Acupressure
• What is Hydrotherapy
• Difference Between FM and CMP

ANSWER: Current best estimates indicate that:

• It's estimated that 44 millions Americans suffer from CMP

ANSWER: Your body has the ability to heal itself. When you are ill, your body produces symptoms, which is how we know that the body has recognized that something is wrong and is actively working to heal itself. This "natural regulator" is your body's auto-regulatory mechanism and it works to keep your body in balance - or in a state of homeostasis.

Here's an example of how this works. Think of your "natural regulator" as your internal temperature gauge. If you go outside and it is very hot, your body will recognize it is too hot and begin to perspire. Your homeostatic mechanism is producing a symptom - perspiration - in an effort to cool down the body. If you go outside and it is very cold, the symptom is shivering. Your homeostatic mechanism is trying to warm the body up by shivering to produce heat.

Think about the last time you were shivering. You could not control it, and you did not stop until you were warm. It is the same way with homeopathic medicines. If you are ill and your body is showing symptoms, the symptoms will not disappear until the source of the symptoms has disappeared.

Homeopathic medicines stimulate your body's homeostatic mechanism so your body heals itself by dealing with the sources of your symptoms.

Homeopathy is different from conventional medicine because conventional medicine simply defines health as the lack of symptoms (if you dry up a runny nose, is your cold gone and are you healthy?). Homeopathy defines health as the lack of disease (if you get rid of the source of the runny nose in the process of dealing with the source, the runny nose will disappear on its own.)

ANSWER: Homeopathic medicines are regulated as drugs by inclusion in the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. All homeopathic medicines are required to have NDC (National Drug Codes) listed on the front panel of the label and box and identify that the products are registered with the federal government. Homeopathic medicines, like all drugs in the United States, are also regulated as prescription and non-prescription. If a remedy is regulated as a prescription item, it is necessary to have a written prescription from a physician to obtain the remedy.

Drugs in the United States are made according to either the United States Pharmacopoeia (USP) or the Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia of the United States (HPUS). These Pharmacopoeias are like cookbooks that contain the procedures for manufacturing drugs in the United States- either prescription or non-prescription. You can find most common drugs in the USP and every homeopathic medicine from Arnica to Zincum in the HPUS.

Because homeopathic medicines are regulated as drugs, in order to prescribe or dispense homeopathic medicines, you must have a license to prescribe medicine. If somebody makes an individual decision to use a homeopathic over-the-counter drug for an acute illness, that is their decision. It is illegal to tell somebody which remedy to take unless you have a license to prescribe. It is not illegal, however, to guide people towards books and informational materials that will help them determine which remedy may best match their symptom picture.

ANSWER: We all need to know we're not alone in our pain and suffering. Often, the best medicine can be laughter shared between people like "us", people with CMP. CMP RESOURCES offers two types of support group listings.

In-Person Groups

The "in-person" groups meet off the computer, usually in an area near your home or workplace. They discuss the challenges of living with CMP. They offer an upbeat atmosphere, focusing on social support, rather than therapy.

Many groups have guest speakers from the medical community who offer news on latest research, and medications. The major objective of most support groups is to provide a warm and caring environment where the illness is not questioned and where patients are accepted. Knowing that others share this journey offers comfort and reassurance.
Click here to visit in-person groups.

Online Groups

The other groups we list are "online" groups. These groups meet online only. They offer help for people unable to leave home for an actual support group meeting. Many of these groups offer monthly newsletters, research information, and forums for people with FM and/or CMP. Groups can vary in size.

Many groups have a family type atmosphere providing a warm and caring environment where the illness is not questioned and where patients are accepted. Knowing that others share this journey offers comfort and reassurance to many people with CMP.
Click here to visit online groups.

ANSWER: Naturopathic medicine (also known as naturopathy) is a school of medical philosophy and practice that seeks to improve health and treat disease chiefly by assisting the body's innate capacity to recover from illness and injury. Naturopathic practice may include a broad array of different modalities, including manual therapy, hydrotherapy, herbalism, acupuncture, counseling, environmental medicine, aroma therapy, nutritional counseling, homeopathy, and so on. Practitioners tend to emphasis a holistic approach to patient care. Naturopathy has its origins in the United States, but is today practiced in many countries around the world in one form or another, where it is subject to different standards of regulation and levels of acceptance.

Naturopathic practitioners prefer not to use invasive surgery, or most synthetic drugs, preferring "natural" remedies, i.e. relatively unprocessed or whole medications, such as herbs and foods. Licensed physicians from accredited schools are trained to use diagnostic tests such as imaging and blood tests before deciding upon the full course of treatment. Naturopathic Practitioners also employ the use of prescription medications and surgery when necessary and refer out to other medical practitioners.

ANSWER: Acupuncture is a technique of inserting and manipulating filiform needles into "acupuncture points" on the body. According to acupuncture teachings this will restore health and well-being, and is particularly good at treating pain. The definition and characterization of these points is standardized by the World Health Organization (WHO). Acupuncture is thought to have originated in China and is most commonly associated with Traditional Chinese medicine. Different types of acupuncture (Japanese, Korean, and classical Chinese acupuncture) are practiced and taught throughout the world.

ANSWER: Acupressure is a traditional Chinese medicine technique based on the same ideas as acupuncture. Acupressure involves placing physical pressure by hand, elbow, or with the aid of various devices on different acupuncture points on the surface of the body. Traditional Chinese Medicine does not usually operate within a scientific paradigm but some practitioners make efforts to bring practices into an evidence-based medicine framework.

There is no scientific consensus over whether or not evidence supports the efficacy of acupressure beyond a placebo. Reviews of existing clinical trials have been conducted by the Cochran Collaboration and Bandolier according to the protocols of evidence-based medicine; for most conditions they have concluded a lack of effectiveness or lack of well-conducted clinical trials.

ANSWER: Hydrotherapy, formerly called hydropathy, is probably the oldest form of medical treatment. It involves the use of water for soothing pains and treating diseases. Hydrotherapy is used to treat arthritis, burns, spasticity, ankylosing spondylitis, musculoskeletal disorders, spinal cord injuries and stroke patients with paralysis. It is also used to treat orthopedic and neurological conditions in dogs and horses and to improve fitness.

Immersion in water - and doing exercises in water - has always been a popular therapy. Thousands of years of treatments have built an enormous amount of expertise but the alleged benefits had little supporting evidence from science until approximately 30 years ago. A 2006 survey of research in Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases discusses the vast amount of high-quality studies showing the effectiveness of hydrotherapy. A new field of research focuses on the cost-effectiveness of hydrotherapy vs. other forms of treatment.

ANSWER: One interesting difference between the two conditions is that more women than men have Fibromyalgia (FM), however Chronic Myofascial Pain (CMP) affects men and women in equal numbers.

Another difference is that muscles in locations that are some distance from the MTP's of CMP have normal sensitivity. With FM there is a generalized sensitivity. With both conditions, the key to successful treatment is identifying and controlling or eliminating perpetuating factors. This may involve changing to a healthy diet and avoiding excess carbohydrates, adding vitamin and mineral supplements, regaining restorative sleep, and adding some gentle exercise and stress-removing activities.

People with both FM and CMP face more than just the two sets of symptoms of both conditions. Today, more researchers are realizing that FM and CMP not only occur together, they reinforce each other. FM and CMP can interact. The research by Dr. Roland Staud and others indicates that pain from localized MTP's can perpetuate the central sensitization of FM.

Physical therapy and all other forms of treatment must proceed very carefully when both of these conditions are involved, because any excess pain caused by the therapy can further sensitize the central nervous system. Any treatment regimen will be both more complicated and less successful than if the patient had only one of the two conditions.

For more information about Fibromyalgia, we suggest you visit our sister site, FM/CFS/ME RESOURCES.