STUDY: Exercise, Education Help Fibromyalgia

Making News:

A study published in the November 12 , 2007, issue of Archives of Internal Medicine (2007; 167 [20], 2192–2200) offers encouraging news about exercise and fibromyalgia. Researchers found that an exercise regime that incorporates walking, strength training and stretching may improve daily function and alleviate symptoms in women with the chronic disorder. Benefits were enhanced when exercise was combined with education on how to manage the disease.

Between 2002 and 2004, researchers recruited 207 women taking medication for fibromyalgia. Participants were randomly assigned to four groups: 51 performed aerobic and flexibility exercises only; 51 added in strength training; 50 received a self-help course on managing fibromyalgia; and 55 participated in all the exercises and the education course. The exercise groups met twice weekly, gradually increasing the length and intensity of their workouts, and were instructed to exercise once more each week on their own.

A total of 135 women completed the 16-week study and were assessed at a 6-month follow-up visit. Women who participated in all forms of exercise improved their physical function. The effect was greater in the combined education and exercise group.

“The study suggests that progressive walking, simple strength training movements and stretching are effective at improving physical, emotional and social function, key symptoms and self-efficacy in women with fibromyalgia who are being actively treated with medication,” the authors wrote in a press release.