> Research summary—not medical advice. This page synthesizes published research on a mechanism-level intervention. It is not a clinical recommendation.
Consult a qualified healthcare provider before making any changes to diet, supplementation, or treatment.
Intervention Summary#
Magnesium supplementation to address the documented magnesium deficiency in fibromyalgia and its role in central sensitization. Magnesium is a physiological NMDA receptor antagonist—blocking the receptor channel that drives wind-up and central pain amplification in FM. Additionally serves as a cofactor for >300 enzymatic reactions including ATP synthesis.
Evidence#
RCTs: Magnesium citrate (300mg/day, 8 weeks) reduced tender point count and FIQ scores compared to placebo in FM patients. Cross-sectional: Low serum magnesium (Mg) correlates with higher pain scores, worse sleep quality, and elevated substance P in FM.
Intracellular magnesium: Red blood cell magnesium (a more accurate measure than serum) is consistently low in FM cohorts. Combination: Magnesium + malic acid combination showed pain reduction in early clinical trials, though replication is needed.
Mechanism#
NMDA receptor blockade: magnesium(II) (Mg2+) sits in the NMDA receptor channel at resting potential, preventing calcium influx. magnesium deficiency removes this block, facilitating glutamate excitotoxicity and central sensitization.
ATP cofactor: magnesium-ATP is the biologically active form of ATP; magnesium deficiency impairs cellular energy production, contributing to the fatigue hallmark of FM. Calcium channel modulation: magnesium competes with calcium(II) (Ca2+) at voltage-gated channels, reducing neuronal hyperexcitability.
Sleep architecture: magnesium deficiency disrupts sleep quality; supplementation improves sleep onset and slow-wave sleep duration.
Clinical Context#
Magnesium glycinate or citrate are preferred forms for bioavailability (magnesium oxide is poorly absorbed). Typical dose: 300-600mg elemental magnesium (Mg)/day, divided doses. GI tolerance improves with gradual dose escalation.
Serum magnesium is an insensitive marker—RBC magnesium or ionized magnesium better reflects tissue status. Most FM patients benefit from sustained supplementation rather than short courses.
> Educational content, not medical advice. This page describes mechanisms by which the intervention interacts with the microbiome and metal ecology. It is not a treatment recommendation.
Clinical decisions about any intervention should be made with a qualified healthcare practitioner who knows your individual history.
Article network
Mentioned here 1
Connect the evidence
Publicly readable discussion by ORCID-authenticated researchers. Questions, interpretation, methods, corrections, and new evidence stay attached to this record.
No discussion yet. Start with a precise question or a source-backed observation.
Activity and accepted changes
Accepted researcher context, editorial status, public discussion, and upstream Git revisions are shown together. Pending, declined, and withdrawn proposals remain private.
- published revision
massive wiki expansion: 149 stubs fixed, 100+ new pages, Rule 15 scan, keystone papers
WikiBiome Deploy Bot · +10 −10
Inspect exact Git diff ↗ - published revision
Adversarial audit fixes: confidence downgrades, disclaimers, STOP safety, entity cleanup
WikiBiome Deploy Bot · +7 −0
Inspect exact Git diff ↗ - published revision
Health check fixes: 40 intervention pages + 14 entity Connections sections
WikiBiome Deploy Bot · +54 −0
Inspect exact Git diff ↗