Invariably , their results suggested that homoeopathy was better than the control interventions in alleviating the symptoms of FM .
Homoeopathy is often advocated for fibromyalgia ( FM ) and many FM patients use it .
Individual differences in response to randomly assigned active individualized homeopathic and placebo treatment in fibromyalgia: implications of a double-blinded optional crossover design.
OBJECTIVE To assess individual difference characteristics of subgroups of patients with fibromyalgia ( FM ) patients with respect to the decision to stay in or switch from r and omly-assigned verum or placebo treatment during an optional crossover phase of a double-blinded homeopathy study . DESIGN Double-blinded , r and omized , placebo-controlled , optional crossover clinical trial . PARTICIPANTS Fifty-three ( 53 ) community-recruited patients with FM entered the optional crossover phase . INTERVENTION Two homeopaths jointly selected an individualized homeopathic remedy for all patients . The pharmacy dispensed either verum LM remedy or indistinguishable placebo in accord with r and omized assignment for 4 months and the patient 's optional crossover decision for an additional 2 months . OUTCOME MEASURES Patients completed a battery of baseline state/trait question naires , including mood , childhood neglect and abuse , and trait absorption . They rated global health ( whole person-centered ) and tender point pain on physical examination ( disease-specific ) at baseline , 3 months , and 6 months . RESULTS Rates of optional crossover from verum to placebo or placebo to verum were comparable ( p = 0.6 ; 31 % , and 41 % , respectively ) . The switch subgroups had greater baseline psychologic issues ( emotional neglect in placebo-switch ; depression and anger in verum-switch ) . The verum-stay subgroup scored highest on treatment helpfulness and included all six exceptional responders who fell , prior to crossover , into the top terciles for improvement in both global health and pain . Patients staying in their r and omly assigned groups , active or placebo ( n = 34 ) , scored significantly higher in trait absorption than did those who switched groups ( n = 19 ) . CONCLUSION Individual difference factors may predict better and poorer responders with FM to specific and nonspecific effects of homeopathic and placebo treatment
Invariably , their results suggested that homoeopathy was better than the control interventions in alleviating the symptoms of FM .
Homoeopathy is often advocated for fibromyalgia ( FM ) and many FM patients use it .