The patient went out of her way to avoid situations where someone might bump into her. She described her body aches as feeling as those she had a bruise all over her entire body.  Rebecca, 52, has been living with this chronic type of pain for more than 30 years. After struggling without proper treatment, she took charge of her disease and sought alternative therapies such as cognitive behavioral therapy, acupuncture and chiropractic manipulation to achieve pain control. In the past she described her pain as a nine or a ten but now she says it’s a one or a two. She has written a book to help others who are like her, Beyond Chronic Pain: A Get-Well Guidebook to Soothe the Body, Mind, and Spirit.

Rebecca has fibromyalgia. Most people have aches and pains and stiffness from time to time, but as they age, many simply attribute it to…