Fibromyalgia involves pain in the muscles, ligaments and tendons; anywhere there are soft tissues in the body. More women than men suffer from this syndrome, with as many as eight million people throughout the U.S.

Most of the time its symptoms are treated with medication, but there is exciting new research that acupuncture may help fibromyalgia patients as well.

In addition to feeling like you have a severe case of the flu all the time, you feel tired and totally devoid of energy. For this reason doctors believe fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome may be closely related.

Besides muscle pain, fibromyalgia patients may have sleep disorders, irritable bowel syndrome, frequent headaches, TMJ (jaw-related face and head pain) and premenstrual symptoms.

The goals of the most common treatments are to improve the quality of sleep and to reduce pain. It is believed that a lack of sleep could be a contributing factor to the condition.

Pain relievers, muscle relaxants, anti-epileptics and other drugs are frequently prescribed. But doctors will admit that drugs alone will not alleviate all the symptoms of fibromyalgia, plus how many medicines can a body tolerate in one day?

A more natural approach that can be used in conjunction with drug therapy is acupuncture. It has been used in China for over two thousand years, and there are at least eight million Americans who have tried it.

The skin is penetrated with hair thin metallic needles at various "acupoints" rich in nerve endings. Stimulating these acupoints can help release the body's natural pain-killing endorphins.

At your first visit, the acupuncturist will take a complete medical history and will ask about your lifestyle and the medications you are taking. This is the time for you to ask how many treatments will be required and what the cost will be. The good news is that many insurance companies now cover the cost of acupuncture treatments.

There have been a few studies published to try and prove the effectiveness of acupuncture for treating fibromyalgia. The results thus far indicate acupuncture can be effective for many people.

One study that was considered to be of very high quality suggested that "real" acupuncture is more effective than sham (placebo) acupuncture for relieving pain, increasing pain thresholds and reducing morning stiffness associated with fibromyalgia.

Studies need to be conducted for a longer period of time, but initial results show that after initial treatments are stopped, booster treatments of acupuncture to maintain its benefits will probably be necessary.

So what do you have to lose? Acupuncture performed by a qualified practitioner is safe and effective for many people. It might be covered by your health insurance so it should not entail a huge investment.

If there is little risk and a good possibility of alleviating the pain associated with fibromyalgia, why not give acupuncture a try?