Exercise to ease fibromyalgia

Posted on March 30, 2009
Filed Under Disease |

A complex disease

Fibromyalgia is a disease “rheumatic” common, affecting muscles, tendons and ligaments whose discomfort may persist for months or even years, although the tissues concerned not suffer irreversible damage. Your symptoms are complex and generally difficult to treat and results not always satisfactory.

Numerous studies

Despite recent progress, treatment with drugs is often insufficient to alleviate symptoms or improve functional limitations and quality of life of these patients.

Today also recommend non-pharmacological treatments, physical exercise and interventions to address behavior problems of patients with fibromyalgia.

The number of studies on exercise and behavioral interventions published in recent years has increased dramatically, which gives an idea of interest in strictly non-pharmacological solutions for patients with this health problem.

This work

The aim of this study was to evaluate and directly compare the effects of self care interventions on 4 well-established measures of functional status, severity of symptoms and self efficacy in women with fibromyalgia.

The researchers included in their work to more than 200 women with fibromyalgia and allocated to a program of 4 months:

* Aerobic exercise and flexibility.

* Exercises for flexibility, aerobics and weightlifting.

* A self-help course of patients with fibromyalgia.

* A combination of the two strategies.

Walking, exercising and stretching

The study results showed that a program of physical exercises properly designed and structured to include tours of progressive intensity, flexibility and stretching exercises, with or without weight, improves physical function, emotional and social, physical symptoms and major the sense of self of these women with fibromyalgia who are being treated well with medication.

Moreover, when combined physical exercises, walks and exercises with educational flexibility of self-developed group, the beneficial effects are increased. These gains were maintained 6 months after the intervention on the group, so the authors suggest that this might be the best approach for the management of women with fibromyalgia.

They note, however, that the content and duration of interventions and their results vary widely in different studies published to date. In any case, feel that the results of their study provide sufficient evidence to encourage health professionals to recommend our patients with fibromyalgia exercise program with walking intensity gradually stretching and flexibility exercises, with or without lifting weights.

We know patients with fibromyalgia: in addition to taking medications, must wear the tracksuit and exercise to try to improve their pain and their quality of life.

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