A Functional Exercise Program Improves Pain and Health Related Quality of Life in Patients With Fibromyalgia
Condition: Fibromyalgia
MeSH terms: Fibromyalgia; Myofascial Pain Syndromes
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      Fibromyalgia is a syndrome characterized mainly by chronic generalized pain that affects the
      physical fitness and functional capacity of patients. There is increasing evidence of the
      benefits of physical exercise in improving fibromyalgia symptoms, making these interventions
      part of therapeutic arsenal. Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of a program of
      functional exercises in reducing pain, improving functional capacity, increasing muscle
      strength, improving flexibility, balance and quality of life of patients with fibromyalgia.
      Intervention: The intervention group performed functional physical training for 45 minutes
      twice a week for 14 weeks. The control group will perform stretching exercises with the same
      duration and frequency. evaluation instruments: Visual Analog Scale for pain; Fibromyalgia
      Impact Questionnaire; Time-up and go test; 1Repetitian Maximum test; Sit and reach test; Berg
      Balance Scale; and Short Form-36 and amount of analgesics used during the intervention period
      was evaluated.
    

Detailed description: 
      Fibromyalgia is a syndrome characterized mainly by chronic generalized pain that affects the
      physical fitness and the functional capacity of patients. There is growing evidence of the
      benefits of exercise to improve fibromyalgia symptoms, making these interventions part of the
      therapeutic arsenal. Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of a functional exercise
      program in reducing pain, improving functional capacity, increasing muscle strength,
      improving flexibility, balance and quality of life of patients with fibromyalgia. METHODS:
      This was a randomized controlled trial with blind evaluator. 82 female patients with
      fibromyalgia were included, aged between 18 and 65 years, randomized into two groups,
      intervention and control. The intervention group performed functional physical training for
      45 minutes twice a week for 14 weeks. The control group performed stretching exercises with
      the same duration and frequency. The evaluation instruments were: Visual Analog Scale for
      pain evaluation; Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire, to evaluate health-related quality of
      life; Time-up and go test for functional performance assessment; 1Repetitium Maximum, for
      evaluation of muscle strength; sit and reach test for the assessment of flexibility; Berg
      Balance Scale, to assess balance; and Short Form-36 to assess overall quality of life. In
      addition, the amount of analgesics used during the intervention period was evaluated.
    

Intervention name(s): Physical activity
Intervention type(s): Other
Intervention description(s): The Functional exercise group performed functional exercise training for 45 minutes twice a week for 14 weeks. The Stretching exercise group performed stretching exercises with the same duration and frequency.
Other intervention name(s): Functional exercise group and Stretching exercise group
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Intervention model description: Randomized controlled trial
Masking: Single (Outcomes Assessor)
Primary purpose: Treatment
Keywords: Fibromyalgia; Exercise; Functional training