There was low- quality evidence that acupuncture  improves pain compared to no treatment or st and ard treatment , but good evidence that it is no better than sham acupuncture .
The evidence for homoeopathy , spinal manipulation and herbal medicine was limited .
No firm conclusions were drawn for efficacy of either spinal manipulation or homoeopathy for FM .
Background Fibromyalgia ( FM ) is a chronic , debilitating pain disorder .
Dissatisfaction with conventional medicine can lead people with FM to turn to complementary and alternative medicine ( CAM ) .
Two previous overviews of systematic review s of CAM for FM have been published , but they did not assessed for risk of bias in the review process .
Osteopathic manipulative treatment in conjunction with medication relieves pain associated with fibromyalgia syndrome: results of a randomized clinical pilot project.
Osteopathic physicians caring for patients with fibromyalgia syndrome ( FM ) often use osteopathic manipulative treatment ( OMT ) in conjunction with other forms of st and ard medical care . Despite a growing body of evidence on the efficacy of manual therapy for the treatment of selected acute musculoskeletal conditions , the role of OMT in treating patients with chronic conditions such as FM remains largely unknown . Twenty-four female patients meeting American College of Rheumatology criteria for FM were r and omly assigned to one of four treatment groups : ( 1 ) manipulation group , ( 2 ) manipulation and teaching group , ( 3 ) moist heat group , and ( 4 ) control group , which received no additional treatment other than current medication . Participants ' pain perceptions were assessed by use of pain thresholds measured at each of 10 bilateral tender points using a 9-kg dolorimeter , the Chronic Pain Experience Inventory , and the Present Pain Intensity Rating Scale . Patients ' affective response to treatment was assessed using the Self-Evaluation Question naire . Activities of daily living were assessed using the Stanford Arthritis Center Disability and Discomfort Scales : Health Assessment Question naire . Depression was assessed using the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale . Significant findings between the four treatment groups on measures of pain threshold , perceived pain , attitude toward treatment , activities of daily living , and perceived functional ability were found . All of these findings favored use of OMT . This study found OMT combined with st and ard medical care was more efficacious in treating FM than st and ard care alone . These findings need to be replicated to determine if cost savings are incurred when treatments for FM incorporate nonpharmacologic approaches such as OMT
There was low- quality evidence that acupuncture  improves pain compared to no treatment or st and ard treatment , but good evidence that it is no better than sham acupuncture .
The evidence for homoeopathy , spinal manipulation and herbal medicine was limited .
No firm conclusions were drawn for efficacy of either spinal manipulation or homoeopathy for FM .
Background Fibromyalgia ( FM ) is a chronic , debilitating pain disorder .
Dissatisfaction with conventional medicine can lead people with FM to turn to complementary and alternative medicine ( CAM ) .
Two previous overviews of systematic review s of CAM for FM have been published , but they did not assessed for risk of bias in the review process .