Fibromyalgia Center - Santa Barbara, CA
Santa Barbara Rheumatologist Doctors for FibromyalgiaType of Physician: Rheumatologist What is a Rheumatologist? A subspecialty certification by the Board of Internal Medicine; practitioners treat diseases of the joints, muscles, bones, and tendons. The rheumatologist diagnoses and treats arthritis, back pain, muscle strains, common athletic injuries, etc. The rheumatologist may work closely with other specialists such as orthopaedic surgeons and physical therapists. Specialty: Rheumatology Common Name: Rheumatologist Doctors in Santa Barbara * Timothy M Spiegel MD  Sansum Clinic Internal Medicine Dept  Arthritis & Osteoporosis Institute  Arthritis & Osteoporosis Institute  Rheumatology Specialists  SBCH Medical Education Department  Sanda Barbara Cottage Hospital  Sansum Santa Barbara Medical Foundation Clinic Rheumatology  Sansum Santa Barbara Medical Foundation Clinic Rheumatology  Sansum Santa Barbara Medical Foundation Clinic Rheumatology  Alan R Peter MD  Howard Hoos MD  Christian R Dequet DO  Lawrence McAdam MD  Shariar Cohen-Gadol MD  Arthritis Medical Center  Pacific Arthritis Center  Diane C Narhi MD  Affiliates In Medical Specialties Agoura Hills  Jim C Kim MD  Facey Medical Group Valencia II  Olga N Popel MD  Xavier J Caro MD  Jimmy H Hwang MD  Albert R Katz MD  Lawrence A May MD Inc  Rheumatology Therapeutics  Rheumatology Therapeutics  Kenneth K C Hsu MD  Martin Berry MD Inc  Martin Berry MD Inc  Olympic Orthopedic Group  WKWS Group  WKWS Group  Charles Weidmann MD  Charles Weidmann MD  Steven R Weiner MD  Olive View UCLA Medical Center  Smita R. Gupta, MD  Pacific Arthritis Care Center  Pacific Arthritis Care Center  Santa Monica Bay Physicians  UCLA Santa Monica Specialists  Barry Eibschutz MD  Joshua Levy MD  Elyse Rubenstein MD  Swezey Institute  Sandra Ramer MD  Peter A Bardwick MD  May K Chatila MD  Orrin M Troum MD  Philip J Clements MD  UCLA Rheumatology  UCLA Rheumatology  UCLA Rheumatology  Drs Fan Lee & Wollaston  Drs Fan Lee & Wollaston  Drs Fan Lee & Wollaston  Rodney Bluestone Medical Corporation  Bruce L Miller MD  Joel Schneider MD  Barry S Unger MD  Arash Horizon MD  Solomon Forouzesh MD  Medical Group of Beverly Hills  Allan L Metzger MD FACP  Cedars-Sinai Medical Group Rheumatology  Cedars-Sinai Medical Group Rheumatology  Beverly Medical Associates  Beverly Medical Associates  Renee Z Rinaldi MD & Dahlia Carr MD  Seymour Levine MD  Renee Z Rinaldi MD & Dahlia Carr MD  Elayne K Garber MD  Katherine Neumann MD  Marilyn A Solsky MD  Alan W Weinberger MD  Kevin Yousefi MD  David S Silver MD Inc  Stuart L Silverman MD  International Center for Joint Disorders  Lakeside Medical Associates  Assa Weinberg MD  William H Hong MD  Purnell Kirkland MD  Medical Institute of LCMH  Great Health Medical Center Santa Barbara, CaliforniaUpcoming Local Events2012-06-02
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FibromyalgiaRead the Fibromyalgia article » What is fibromyalgia?Fibromyalgia is a chronic condition that causes pain, stiffness, and tenderness of the muscles, tendons, and joints. Fibromyalgia is also characterized by restless sleep, awakening feeling tired, chronic fatigue, anxiety, depression, and disturbances in bowel function. Fibromyalgia is sometimes referred to as fibromyalgia syndrome and abbreviated FMS. Fibromyalgia was formerly known as fibrositis. While fibromyalgia is one of the most common diseases affecting the muscles, its cause is currently unknown. The painful tissues involved are not accompanied by tissue inflammation. Therefore, despite potentially disabling body pain, patients with fibromyalgia do not develop body damage or deformity. Fibromyalgia also does not cause damage to internal body organs. In this sense, fibromyalgia is different from many other rheumatic conditions (such as rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus, and polymyositis). In those diseases, tissue inflammation is the major cause of pain, stiffness, and tenderness of the joints, tendons and muscles, and it can lead to joint deformity and damage to the internal organs or muscles.
What causes fibromyalgia?The cause of fibromyalgia is not known. Those affected experience pain in response to stimuli that are normally not perceived as painful. Researchers have found elevated levels of a nerve chemical signal, called substance P, and nerve growth factor in the spinal fluid of fibromyalgia patients. Levels of the brain chemical serotonin are also relatively low in patients with fibromyalgia. Studies of pain in fibromyalgia have suggested that the central nervous system (brain) may be somehow supersensitive. Scientists note that there seems to be a diffuse disturbance of pain perception in patients with fibromyalgia. Also, patients with fibromyalgia have an impaired non-rapid eye movement, or non-... Recommended Reading Related to FibromyalgiaDepression facts
Other Related Fibromyalgia ArticlesEmergency Contact for Santa Barbara
Nearby Santa Barbara Hospitals *Cottage Rehabilitation Institute Goleta Valley Cottage Hospital Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital Ojai Valley Community Hospital Aurora Vista Del Mar Hospital Community Memorial Hospital Ventura County Medical Center Santa Ynez Valley Cottage Hospital St John's Regional Medical Center Featured Articles*Provider Directory Terms of Use: The WebMD 'Provider Directory' is provided by WebMD for use by the general public as a quick reference of information about Providers. The Provider Directory is not intended as a tool for verifying the credentials, qualifications, or abilities of any Provider contained therein. Inclusion in the Provider Directory does not imply recommendation or endorsement nor does omission in the Provider Directory imply WebMD disapproval. |
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Abdominal Pain
- Abdominal pain is pain in the belly and can be acute or chronic. Causes include inflammation, distention of an organ, and loss of the blood supply to an organ. Abdominal pain can reflect a major problem with one of the organs in the abdomen such as the appendix, gallbladder, large and small intestine, pancreas, liver, colon, duodenum, and spleen.
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Anxiety
- Anxiety is a feeling of apprehension and fear characterized by physical symptoms. Anxiety disorders are serious medical illnesses that affect approximately 19 million American adults.
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Headache
- Headaches can be divided into two categories: primary headaches and secondary headaches. Migraine headaches, tension headaches, and cluster headaches are considered primary headaches. Secondary headaches are caused by disease. Headache symptoms vary with the headache type. Over-the-counter pain relievers provide short-term relief for most headaches.
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Migraine
- Migraine is usually periodic attacks of headaches on one or both sides of the head. These may be accompanied by nausea, vomiting, increased sensitivity of the eyes to light (photophobia), increased sensitivity to sound (phonophobia), dizziness, blurred vision, cognitive disturbances, and other symptoms. Treatments for migraine headache include therapies that may or may not involve medications.
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Stress
- Stress occurs when forces from the outside world impinge on the individual. Stress is a normal part of life. However, over-stress, can be harmful. There is now speculation, as well as some evidence, that points to the abnormal stress responses as being involved in causing various diseases or conditions.
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Depression
- Depression is an illness that involves the body, mood, and thoughts and affects the way a person eats and sleeps, the way one feels about oneself, and the way one thinks about things. The principal types of depression are major depression, dysthymia, and bipolar disease (also called manic-depressive disease).
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Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
- IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) is a common gastrointestinal disorder involving abnormal gut contractions (motility) characterized by abdominal pain, bloating, mucous in stools, and irregular bowel habits with alternating diarrhea and constipation, symptoms that tend to be chronic and to wax and wane over the years. Treatment options include medication and lifestyle changes such as diet, exercise, and stress management to control symptoms. Also called spastic colitis, mucus colitis, nervous colon syndrome.
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Neck Pain
- Neck pain (cervical pain) may be caused by any number of disorders and diseases. Tenderness is another symptom of neck pain. Though treatment for neck pain really depends upon the cause, treatment typically may involve heat/ice application, traction, physical therapy, cortisone injection, topical anesthetic creams, and muscle relaxants.
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Chest Pain
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Pain Management
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Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
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Muscle Pain (Myofascial Pain Syndrome)
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Chronic Pain
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Fatigue
- Fatigue can be described in various ways. Sometimes fatigue is described as feeling a lack of energy and motivation (both mental and physical). The causes of fatigue are generally related to a variety of conditions or diseases for example, anemia, mono, medications, sleep problems, cancer, anxiety, heart disease, drug abuse, and more. Treatment of fatigue is generally directed toward the condition or disease that is causing the fatigue.
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Insomnia
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Sleep
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Stress Management Techniques
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Fitness
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Mental Health
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Pain Management: Musculoskeletal Pain
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