HealthInfo Canterbury

Self-care with fibromyalgia

There are many things you can do to help manage your fibromyalgia.

• Be active – being active can reduce your pain and improve your mood, muscle tone and blood flow. It can also help you sleep. It's important to be careful with how much activity you do as well as the type of exercise. See Being Active with Fibromyalgia for more detail.
• Try relaxation techniques such as yoga, tai chi or mindfulness. You can learn more about mindfulness meditation on Smiling Mind (it's got a free app) or Headspace (it's got a free app for an introductory 10-day programme).
• Get enough sleep. This can be difficult when you have pain but there are a number or things you can do to get a better night's sleep – see Tips for Sleeping Well.
• Pace yourself by planning your activities with rest periods as needed.
• Eat well and have regular meals. There’s no special diet that will help fibromyalgia but eating well may help you keep your energy levels more consistent and reduce fatigue. Eating well can also give you more energy to stay physically active and help to improve your overall health.
• Get support because living with an ongoing painful condition is difficult. Reach out to family, friends and your GP team. You can get support from Arthritis New Zealand and their arthritis educators and online support groups.

  HealthInfo recommends the following pages

• Healthtalk.org
  • Coping with chronic pain flare-ups

    Things you can do to cope with a flare-up of pain.

  • Pain management: pacing and goal setting

    Pain management techniques.

  • Pain management: relaxation and distraction

    Useful pain management techniques such as visualisation.

• New Zealand Pain Society – Navigating pain

  An explanation of chronic pain and advice about living well with chronic pain.

On the next page: Being active with fibromyalgia

Written by HealthInfo clinical advisers. Last reviewed July 2021.

Page reference: 946

Review key: HIFIA-25336