WHAT IS FIBROMYALGIA
Fibromyalgia is a pathology characterized by widespread pain in the muscles and connective and fibrous structures that persists for at least three months, associated with other clinical symptoms that are present at the same time such as:
sleep disorders, poor physical fitness, cognitive impairment or anxiety and depression, chronic fatigue.
In Italy this pathology affects approximately 1.5-2 million Italians (estimates from the Italian Fibromyalgia Syndrome Association).
THE CAUSES
At the moment the causes are not well known, studies carried out have shown that it is a consequence triggered by multiple factors: environmental and genetic.
Stressful events such as illness, bereavement, mental or physical trauma can also lead to typical symptoms of fibromyalgia.
There is therefore no single cause also because the majority of patients were not able to identify a single event that led to the onset of symptoms.
More recent studies seem to imply alterations in chemical mediators such as central neurotransmitters or hormones, which could explain, for example, the sleep alterations and reduced pain tolerance typical of this syndrome.
CLINICAL DANCE THERAPY TO HELP FIBROBIALGIA
Among the useful indications and practices in controlling the symptoms of fibromyalgia, the practice of slow movements and deep breathing is recommended, these aspects being tested in the practice of Clinical Dance Therapy.
Dance-based intervention programs can be an effective intervention for people suffering from fibromyalgia, leading to a significant reduction in pain levels.
In 2018, a study carried out on patients with fibromyalgia reported a decrease in chronic pain after participating in a dance therapy program lasting 12/24 weeks.
Clinical Dance Therapy is a body movement practice that integrates Maria Fux’s proposal with studies and practices of body movement, such as Movement Anatomy, Kinesiology, Non-Verbal Communication.
In the meetings the person is supported and led in the experimentation of “pure” bodily movement or in the search for his own way of being, of moving in space and time: a “dialogue”, a “body discourse” takes place, creating a process in which to express and transform who we are through the creativity of the body.
In individual Clinical Dance Therapy meetings with people who suffer from fibromyalgia, I accompany them through the experience of “slowness”, in search of a simple and pure movement, there are no choreographies or techniques to follow, the body movement becomes a “non-verbal” expression of us, arises spontaneously supported by the music, the words and the stimuli put into play by the host.
“Slowness” is an aspect that is very far from being experienced in our lives, after an existence educated at speed we are now asked to slow down, every single action must resume another rhythm at another time. This is the hardest thing to work on with people.
I often work at the person’s home also because many of them have difficulty going out, and I must say that the home is the ideal environment from which to start this work. I help people to resume the simple movements they do at home and which are now difficult, proposing them in a more creative key.
Every action is reviewed, reworked and brought into “dance”. From walking, to sitting down and getting up from the chair, from raising our arms to take something from the pantry, every gesture we carry out in everyday life is studied and re-proposed so that it becomes fluid and slow. We get nothing if we work at speed, because we stress the connective tissue and muscle fibers even more.
Every change we experience at a bodily level will generate a change in our lives, in our relationships, in the way we deal with everyday life, while at a brain level new neuronal patterns and new synapses are generated.
You don’t have to be a dancer or have dance practice to be able to follow the meetings, you simply have to have faith in yourself and in the body’s ability to always find new possibilities to regenerate and improve.
Each Clinical Dance Therapy intervention is structured around the theoretical framework of Relationship Psychoanalysis, integrated with Phenomenology, Educational Rehabilitation and Neuroscience.
Dr. PIPAN Cristina
Pedagogical educator
APID certified Clinical Dance Therapy Teacher
University Master in Posturology
information +39 3298846682
pipancristina@gmail.com
Sitografia
www.fisiologicamente.altervista.org/fibromialgia-gli-effetti-positivi-della-danza-sul-dolore/?doing_wp_cron=1694090876.6458930969238281250000
www.grupposandonato.it/news/2020/febbraio/fibromialgia-cosa-significa
www.ichgcp.net/it/clinical-trials-registry/NCT03971890
www.lyceum.it