Exercise and Fibromyalgia
Aerobic Exercise Effective in Treating Fibromyalgia
Fri Jul 26, 5:39 PM ET
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A new study shows that aerobic exercise can ease
pain in patients with fibromyalgia.
Fibromyalgia is a chronic condition marked by widespread muscular and joint
pain, as well as specific "tender" points that typically occur in the neck,
spine, hips and shoulders. Other symptoms include sleep disturbances and
fatigue, depression and irritable bowel syndrome. The condition affects an
estimated 2% to 4% of the population, but is seen most often in women of
reproductive age.
In the current study, Dr. Selwyn C. M. Richards from Poole Hospital NHS
Trust and Dr. David L. Scott from King's College Hospital, London, randomly
assigned 136 patients with fibromyalgia to a program of aerobic exercise or
relaxation and flexibility exercise. They report their findings in the July
27th issue of the British Medical Journal.
The researchers assessed study participants' tender point count and other
symptoms and asked them to assess their own improvement.
At 3 months, 24 of 69 of the patients in the aerobic exercise group rated
themselves as "much or very much better," compared with 12 of 67 of the
patients in the relaxation and flexibility group, Richards and Scott found.
After 1 year, the benefits of the exercise program continued for 26 of the
patients in the aerobic exercise group and for 15 of the patients in the
control group.
Compared with controls, patients in the aerobic exercise group also had
greater reductions in tender point counts and in scores on questionnaires
measuring fibromyalgia symptoms, the researchers note. Based on tender point
counts, only 75 patients in both groups still met the criteria for
fibromyalgia after 1 year. Fewer of these patients were in the aerobic
exercise group (31) than in the control group (44).
Richards and Scott conclude that "prescribed graded aerobic exercise is a
simple, cheap, effective and potentially widely available treatment for
fibromyalgia."
The major drawback of their program, they add, was compliance-only 72 study
participants attended more than one third of the classes. "Future strategies
to increase the efficacy of exercise as an intervention should confront the
issue of compliance," Richards and Scott add.
SOURCE: British Medical Journal 2002;325:185-187.
Aerobic Exercise Effective in Treating Fibromyalgia