Introduction: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of 8 months of physical exercise in warm water on pain in female with fibromyalgia (FM). Methods: Thirty three patients with FM were randomly assigned into two groups: an exercise group (n = 17), who performed 3 weekly sessions for 60 minutes of physical exercise; and a control group (n=16), who continued their habitual daily activities without exercising. The pain was assessed by means of the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnarie (FIQ) and the Short Form 36 (SF36). The number of tender points were also assessed. Results: After 8 months of physical exercise significant improvements in the exercise group were observed compared to the control group in the dimensions of "pain" (FIQ) (9%; p=0.040) and "body pain" (SF-36) (58%; p=0.001). The number tender points did not show any significant change. Conclusion: Eight months of physical exercise in warm water was an effective treatment to decrease the pain in women with FM. However, the physical exercise program was not effective in decreasing the number of tender points.
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the feasibility of 8 months of supervised exercise therapy in warm water and its effects on the impact of fibromyalgia on physical and mental health and physical fitness in affected women.
METHODS: Thirty women with fibromyalgia were randomly assigned to an exercise therapy group (n = 15) or a control group (inactive) (n = 15). The impact of fibromyalgia on physical and mental health was assessed using the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire and the anxiety state with State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Physical fitness was measured using the following tests: Canadian Aerobic Fitness; hand-grip dynamometry; 10-metre walking; 10-step stair-climbing and blind 1-leg stance.
RESULTS: After 8 months of training, the exercise therapy group improved compared with the control group in terms of physical function (20%), pain (8%), stiffness (53%), anxiety (41%), depression (27%), Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire total scores (18%), State-Trait Anxiety Inventory score (22%), aerobic capacity (22%), balance (30%), functional capacity for walking (6%), stair-climbing with no extra weight (14%) and stair-climbing 10 kg-weighted (25%).
CONCLUSION: Eight months of supervised exercise in warm water was feasible and led to long-term improvements in physical and mental health in patients with fibromyalgia at a similar magnitude to those of shorter therapy programmes.
Introduction: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of 8 months of physical exercise in warm water on pain in female with fibromyalgia (FM). Methods: Thirty three patients with FM were randomly assigned into two groups: an exercise group (n = 17), who performed 3 weekly sessions for 60 minutes of physical exercise; and a control group (n=16), who continued their habitual daily activities without exercising. The pain was assessed by means of the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnarie (FIQ) and the Short Form 36 (SF36). The number of tender points were also assessed. Results: After 8 months of physical exercise significant improvements in the exercise group were observed compared to the control group in the dimensions of "pain" (FIQ) (9%; p=0.040) and "body pain" (SF-36) (58%; p=0.001). The number tender points did not show any significant change. Conclusion: Eight months of physical exercise in warm water was an effective treatment to decrease the pain in women with FM. However, the physical exercise program was not effective in decreasing the number of tender points.
