Vascular & Lymphatic Damage: The Painful Connection in Fibromyalgia & COVID-19

With that background, you can imagine my excitement when our Health and Resilience Team and I discovered a new tool to add to our therapeutic approaches to help people struggling with the pain of FMS – which has become dramatically worse and more widespread in all age groups since the COVID injections were rolled out in 2021. The microvascular and lymphatic damage from COVID-19 illness, while not as severe as the damage from the COVID injections, is adding to the overlooked causes of diffuse muscle and joint pain.  Then, when people hurt too much to exercise, it is harder and harder to get adequate circulation of blood and lymph to carry out these critical functions, and that in turn makes muscle pain worse.  So it becomes a vicious cycle.

Most FMS treatment regimens today don’t really address at all the microvascular and lymphatic damage contributing to muscle pain, even though it is a huge contributing factor in why muscle pain persists.  For many years, I have recommended various bodywork treatments as part of an integrated approach—techniques such as muscle and myofascial massage, lymphatic drainage massage—help relieve pain but didn’t get to the root cause of the damage.

Now one of our new options in the Truth for Health store provides added hope to improve this key underlying cause—lymphatic and microvascular damage! Tru MicroVascular™ is a natural medicine supplement containing diosmin and hesperidin, two extensively researched citrus bioflavonoids in a unique micronized form to enhance absorption and bioavailability. There are significant clinical studies to show that this combination helps improve blood flow to and from injured muscles and other body tissues AND improve lymphatic drainage to carry away waste products from our muscles and tissues.

Today, I am going take a slightly different approach and start with the description of Tru MicroVascular™ and how it works, and then for those who want more of the medical details and explanations of why and how the microvascular and lymphatic systems are involved in muscle pain, the last part of my article addresses that.

TruMicroVascular™ – Diosmin and Hesperidin to the Rescue in FMS
Diosmin and hesperidin are two bioflavonoids extracted from citrus fruits that are key players in helping microvascular damage and lymphatic dysfunction that is a major and usually overlooked culprit in muscle pain syndromes. Both flavonoids have also shown potential benefits for neuropathic pain, a common component of the  fibromyalgia pain syndrome.

Diosmin and hesperidin are often formulated together, typically in a 9:1 ratio (diosmin: hesperidin), and are commonly used as supplements for cardiovascular and venous health concerns. Diosmin fundamentally helps maintain the structure and function of the circulatory system, especially vein strength and competence.  Extensive research over decades suggests that these compounds support healthy veins, capillaries, and blood flow; promote healthy lymphatic drainage; and enhance antioxidant activity; and support healthy eicosanoid metabolism. More recent research shows the components in TruMicroVascular™ also support blood glucose metabolism, critical for energy sources to muscles, nerves and other tissues.

TruMicroVascular™ contains the same ratio of diosmin to hesperidin (a precursor to diosmin) as used in clinical trials and uses a unique micronization process to produce micronized purified flavonoid fraction (MPFF) to improve absorption. In addition, MPFF helps promote venous tone, normal lymph drainage, healthy capillary permeability, favorable microcirculation, and helps maintain venous sufficiency . Some studies indicate that favorable results can be achieved within two hours of administration* and suggests that health-related quality-of-life parameters were found to improve with the use of MPFF. (Pitsch F. Recent guidelines in chronic venous disease: the place of Daflon 500 mg Phlebolymphology. 2011;18:24-29).

Research on MPFF suggests that its positive effects may be extended to various parts of the body.*  Ongoing animal studies suggest that diosmin, the major component found in MPFF, significantly supports blood glucose and insulin levels already within the normal range and exerts favorable effects on maintaining healthy serum hemoglobin. Results from a double-blind placebo-controlled study support the use of MPFF for maintaining healthy glucose metabolism in humans as well.*  Stability in glucose delivery is another way that TruMicroVascular™ helps maintain healthy muscle and nerve function and reduce pain.

Tru MicroVascular™ Citrus Flavonoids to the Rescue: Role in FMS and Chronic Venous Insufficiency (CVI).

Diosmin and hesperidin are widely used to treat poor blood circulation, especially in the legs, known as Chronic Venous Insufficiency (CVI). They improve venous tone and lymphatic drainage and enhance blood vessel strength and elasticity. This makes them helpful for symptoms like swelling, heaviness, or pain in the legs. These supplements are also used for swelling due to lymphatic damage and blockage of lymph flow. They work by strengthening and enhancing the elasticity of capillaries and larger veins, reducing inflammation, and improving both blood and lymphatic flow.

Diosmin also has a positive impact on endothelial function. It helps protect and restore the Endothelial Glycocalyx (GCX) a protective layer on endothelial cells crucial for vascular homeostasis. Diosmin helps maintain vascular permeability and tone, reduces endothelial inflammation, and prevents leukocyte adhesion. This leads to improved endothelial function, and improved overall vascular function and blood flow.

Diosmin also has anti-inflammatory effects that drive vascular disease and enhance endothelial nitric oxide production (eNO) that promotes vasodilation, reduces vascular resistance, and improves blood flow. Diosmin also possesses antioxidant properties that reduce reactive oxygen species and oxidative stress in endothelial cells, further protecting vascular health. These combined actions contribute to improved vascular tone, reduced inflammation, and overall endothelial health, making diosmin valuable for managing vascular disorders and endothelial dysfunction and in turn reduce FMS symptoms especially pain.

Keep in mind, unlike most supplements and natural medicines sold in the US, ALL Truth for Health Foundation Formulas Meet or Exceed cGMP Quality Standards. For more information, you can review some of the studies here: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9184951/, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8203789/, And here: Click here for TruMicroVascular™ Product Data Sheet. 

Now for the medical lesson to “connect the dots” between the microvascular system, lymphatic system, fibromyalgia pain syndromes, COVID-19 illness episodes, and the vascular/lymphatic damage so devastating in people who had the COVID “vaccine” injections.
Most people, and most doctors, focus on the blood vascular system, also called the cardiovascular system. But we have a second, crucial vascular system—the lymphatic system—that circulates lymph, the bodily fluid that helps maintain fluid balance, removes waste from tissues, and plays a crucial role in the immune function.

The blood vascular system is a network of vessels that carry blood throughout the body consisting of arteries, the blood vessels that carry oxygenated blood away from the heart to the body’s tissues, capillaries which are tiny blood vessels that allow oxygen and nutrients to pass from the arteries into the cells and waste products to pass back into the bloodstream, and veins, blood vessels that carry deoxygenated blood and metabolic waste products back to the heart. The vascular system plays a vital role in delivering oxygen and nutrients to the body’s cells, tissues, muscles, organs… and removing waste products from them. These functions take place at the microvascular level. In fact, 99% of our vascular system is comprised of micro vessels.

Dysfunction of these small microvasculature vessels leads to various diseases and dangerous conditions including cardiovascular and kidney disease, diabetes and even sepsis. The microvasculature is not just a passive network, it is regulated by endothelial cells which line the vessels to help control blood flow, capillary permeability, and tissue oxygenation.

The lymphatic system is a network of vessels, tissues, and organs that helps maintain fluid balance in the body, filters waste and toxins, and is vital for immune function. The lymph, a fluid that circulates through the lymphatic system, helps remove excessive fluid, proteins, and waste products from tissues and returns them to the bloodstream.

The lymphatic system is different from the blood-containing part of vascular system, but is part of the overall vascular system. Our lymphatics are a one-way system with lymph flowing towards the heart and eventually emptying back into the bloodstream. The lymphatic system is also part of the body’s immune system and includes tonsils, adenoids, thymus, spleen, bone marrow, lymph vessels (tiny microvasculature that carries lymph fluid), and lymph nodes. A healthy lymph flow is critical to healthy immune function by transporting immune cells like lymphocytes and antigens (substances that trigger an immune response) to the lymph nodes where they can be processed and activated.  Much of our digestive and respiratory system is lined with lymphatic tissue. It’s needed there because those systems are exposed to the external environment, and the lymphatic tissue helps in the defense of our body.

Both components—blood and lymph—are critically important to optimal organ function and work together to ward off disease and keep us healthy. When both aspects of our vasculature get damaged, it causes all kinds of health problems and pain syndromes.

Causes of Damage to the Blood Vascular System:

• Chronic high blood sugar – elevated glucose levels can injure microvascular endothelial cells and lead to complications such as retinopathy (eye), nephropathy (kidney), and neuropathy (nerves).
• Hypertension (high blood pressure) – can stiffen and damage small blood vessels over time, making them less responsive and more likely to dysfunction
• Dyslipidemia – elevated blood fats contribute to vascular dysfunction and atherosclerosis, affecting micro vessels
• Smoking – chemicals in tobacco smoke cause inflammation and direct cellular injury to the micro vessels
• Obesity and metabolic syndrome – cause metabolic and inflammatory changes that hurt microvascular function
• Aging – the risk of microvascular damage rises with age, due to reduced vascular density and resilience
• Heart failure – alters blood flow dynamics and increases microvascular risk
• Processed foods high in sugar, saturated fats, preservatives and chemicals increase inflammation and metabolic changes that contribute to microvascular dysfunction
• Infections, some medications, and cancer metastasis are additional contributors.

Causes of Damage to the Lymphatic System:

• Surgery-removal of lymph nodes or surrounding tissue, often during treatments for cancers such as breast, head and neck, Melanoma, or gynecological cancers.
• Radiation therapy: used in cancer treatment, radiation can damage or scar lymphatic vessels, reducing their ability to drain lymph fluid.
• Infections severe skin infections like Cellulitis or parasitic infections can injure the lymphatic vessels or create scar tissue that blocks lymph flow.
• Trauma Or injury: physical damage from accidents or surgery can disrupt lymphatic vessel’s structure and function.
• Cancer and tumors: tumors may directly block lymphatic vessels or spread to lymph nodes, disrupting normal lymph flow.
• Obesity: extra fat tissue can put pressure on lymphatic channels, potentially causing vessel dysfunction and swelling.
• Venous diseases and chronic conditions: disorders like deep vein thrombosis (DVT), chronic venous insufficiency, or heart disease can overload or damage the lymphatic system.
• Inability or lack of movement: reduce muscle activity impairs natural lymph drainage, leading to vessel dysfunction over time.

Medical doctors have been SLOW to admit the mRNA COVID shots and COVID illness are causing extensive damage to the vascular systems, especially the microvasculature and lymphatic system.  But just last week, a study was published in the European Heart Journal, “Accelerated Vascular Ageing After COVID-19 Infection: The CARTESIAN Study, showed that COVID-19 is associated with early vascular ageing in the long term, especially in women. In addition, the authors now consider COVID-19 to be a vascular disease since the severe acute respiratory syndrome affects the vascular system directly with the virus using angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) as cell entry receptors, as well as indirectly due to the elevation of systemic inflammatory cytokines.

Increasing scientific evidence confirms damage from COVID-19 injections on the microvascular and macrovascular systems:

• One study showed that the BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 injection transiently impairs endothelial function (which relates to the inner lining of blood vessels) at 24 hours after the second dose, indicated by a decrease in flow-mediated dilatation (FMD).
• Another observation found that the BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 injection caused a temporary impairment of endothelial function measured up to 2 weeks after the second dose, with recovery by 6 months. It is suspected that the endothelial dysfunction is involved in some thrombotic events.
• There have also been global reports of serious side effects related to abnormal blood clot formation (thrombosis) following COVID-19 shots, often linked to immune system activation and low platelet levels, leading to clotting in various vessels that can cause death.
• Vasculitis and ocular vascular events following COVID-19 shots require further study to determine how widespread this is.
• Overall, there is evidence of serious long-term endothelial (microvascular) dysfunction and immune-mediated vascular adverse events following COVID-19 injections, with the greater damage seen in people who have had the most injections with boosters.

Recent scientific evidence also confirms damage from COVID-19 injections on the lymphatic system:

• COVID-19 injections cause increased metabolic activity and enlargement (lymphadenopathy) in lymph nodes, predominantly those draining the injection site, such as axillary lymph nodes. This is evidenced by PET/CT scans showing increased 2-[18F] FDG uptake in lymph nodes ipsilateral to the injection. This lymph node activity peaks around 10 days after BioNTech/Pfizer vaccine, around week 4 for Moderna vaccine, and shows earlier but less pronounced peaks for AstraZeneca. The activity gradually decreases and usually returns to normal levels within about 70 days, though some cases report persistence longer.
• Lymphadenopathy after COVID-19 vaccination has been reported but we do not have reliable data on how widespread this problem is, since most physicians will not acknowledge connections with the COVID shots. It mainly affects axillary, clavicular, or cervical lymph nodes on the same side as the injection. Doctor often dismiss lymph node swelling as a “normal immune response” but I disagree, and think it reflects potentially longer lasting inflammatory damage that certainly can make existing lymphedema much worse, especially if the shot is administered in an already affected limb.
• Lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) are the highly inflammatory coatings for the delivery mechanism of the mRNA particles in the COVID-19 shots.  LNPs preferentially enter the lymphatic system and are transported to draining lymph nodes to induce immune priming. This explains why lymph node swelling and immune activation occurs at these sites, but what doctors are ignoring is the risk (and evidence of) systemic lymphatic damage as the LNPs circulate throughout lymphatic channels all over the body.
• Lymphadenopathy has persisted for an extended duration beyond the typical 1-2 weeks, with reports of swollen lymph nodes lasting more than 6 months.  Again, doctors are not tracking this so we don’t have reliable data on how long the lymph node swelling lasts.
• There are also case reports of COVID-19 shots triggering or worsening lymphatic dysfunction or lymphedema. suggesting the COVID injections lead to immune activation causing diminished lymphatic drainage in susceptible people.
• Imaging studies (PET-CT) show much higher percentages of reactive lymph nodes (up to 36% within 10 weeks post COVID shots).
• Women and younger individuals (<65 years) tend to have higher rates of lymphadenopathy after COVID injections.

It is clear that as more and more data is coming out, there is no doubt that COVID-19 illness and COVID injections are causing vascular and lymphatic disease in the body. But most doctors do not make the connection between that vascular and lymphatic damage and the increase in muscle and nerve pain syndromes, such as Fibromyalgia.

Connecting the DOTS: Fibromyalgia Pain Syndrome and Vascular Damage from COVID Illness, and COVID Injections

Several studies have found that impaired microvascular function and neurovascular abnormalities may contribute to the chronic pain and other symptoms seen in FMS. A 2017 study assessing microvascular function in women with fibromyalgia found that FMS patients had impaired microvascular blood flow and endothelial function, as measured by laser Doppler flowmetry.

Research has also reported morphological vascular abnormalities in fibromyalgia patients, including fewer capillaries, more capillary dilations, and lower peripheral blood flow compared to healthy controls. Some studies also noted changes in red blood cell parameters, blood viscosity, and inflammation markers, all indicating vascular dysfunction and inflammation as contributors to the disease process. Peripheral neurovascular pathology (peripheral neuropathy) characterized by excessive sensory innervation of arteriole-venule shunts in the skin of fibromyalgia patients was also identified. This abnormal innervation may cause altered blood flow regulation, ischemia, and heightened pain sensitivity, especially under cold conditions, potentially contributing to fibromyalgia’s widespread pain and tenderness.

My review found evidence of microvascular dysfunction in fibromyalgia of thickened capillary endothelial cells, endothelial dysfunction, arterial stiffness, disrupted nutritive blood flow, oxidative stress markers, arteriovenous shunting, and mitochondrial abnormalities.

These alterations can promote neural sensitization and inflammatory responses, aggravating chronic pain and fibromyalgia symptoms. A few other interesting notes found:

• ophthalmic vascular changes in fibromyalgia patients, reflecting systemic microvascular involvement.
• increased cardiovascular risk burden, with higher prevalence of cardiovascular disease risk factors like hypertension and diabetes among FM patients
• fibromyalgia patients exhibit significantly lower capillary density compared to healthy individuals
• higher number of dilated capillary loops in fibromyalgia patients when compared to healthy controls and capillary diameters are often significantly increased, especially in those with co-occurring Raynaud’s phenomenon.
• increased numbers of micro-aneurysms, neoangiogenic capillaries, and even occasional avascular areas
• muscle microcirculation found reduced capillary density in the skeletal muscle tissue of fibromyalgia patients compared to controls

In summary, fibromyalgia patients show decreased capillary density, more frequent dilated capillaries, occasional microvascular changes such as neoangiogenesis, and reduced muscle capillary density. All of these microvascular abnormalities contribute to impaired tissue blood flow and oxygenation which contributes to the pathogenesis of fibromyalgia pain (and fatigue) symptoms, further reinforcing the microvascular role in FMS.

The Lymphatic system and Fibromyalgia Pain

The lymphatic system is connected to fibromyalgia pain in several ways. Impaired lymphatic drainage and a sluggish lymphatic system can contribute to the chronic pain, inflammation, muscle soreness, and swelling common symptoms experienced by fibromyalgia patients. Lymphatic drainage techniques such as gentle massage that stimulate the lymphatic system to move lymph fluid, gentle exercise such as walking, rebounding, and low impact Tai Chi has shown promise in reducing fibromyalgia pain and symptoms by clearing inflammatory substances and metabolic waste from tissues. This promotes pain relief by stimulating the body’s pain-inhibitory pathways and encouraging endorphin release, which helps control muscle tension and pain.

Chronic inflammation may be worsened by impaired lymphatic flow as toxins and inflammatory cytokines (such as IL-1b, IL-6, TNF-a) can accumulate in tissues, triggering ongoing nociceptor stimulation and sustaining chronic pain. Studies show elevated inflammatory mediators and neuropeptides in fibromyalgia patients linking impaired local lymphatic function to pain generation.

TruMicroVascular™ Clinical Applications that help Fibromyalgia:

• Supports Veins, Capillaries, and Circulation
• Helps Promote Normal Lymphatic Drainage
• Supports Antioxidant Activity
• Supports Blood Glucose Metabolism
• Supports Healthy Eicosanoid Metabolism

With all of these TruMicroVascular™  beneficial clinical applications, you can see why I think this be a valuable part of your integrated treatment options for the persistent pain of Fibromyalgia and also for the well-documented microvascular and lymphatic damage in Long COVID and COVID “Vaccine” Injury.