Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Fibromyalgia and Physical Training (Cochrane review on Resistance exercise training for fibromyalgia)


There has been a Cochrane review on fibromyalgia and physical exercises recently.
Angela J. Busch and colleagues looked at "Resistance exercise training for fibromyalgia" (Link: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD010884/abstract). Conclusions: "The evidence (rated as low quality) suggested that moderate- and moderate- to high-intensity resistance training improves multidimensional function, pain, tenderness, and muscle strength in women with fibromyalgia. The evidence (rated as low quality) also suggested that eight weeks of aerobic exercise was superior to moderate-intensity resistance training for improving pain in women with fibromyalgia. There was low-quality evidence that 12 weeks of low-intensity resistance training was superior to flexibility exercise training in women with fibromyalgia for improvements in pain and multidimensional function. There was low-quality evidence that women with fibromyalgia can safely perform moderate- to high-resistance training."
Do we get something out of this review? Yes, indeed we do. Though the evidence gained is based on low quality studies, we get some valuable new insights by combining different studies, which the authors did. These insights enable us to better structure multidisciplinary approaches. I see own therapeutic structures confirmed. You can extract the following:
- resistance training is safe
- resistance training improves multidimensional function, pain, tenderness, and muscle strength
- aerobic exercise is superior to resistance training
- low-intensity resistance training is superior to flexibility exercise training.
In a clinical setting we use a combination of aerobic exercise and resistance training. But we use it in a multidisciplinary context with cognitive behavioural therapy and relaxing techniques as well as patient education.
I'm very happy that Angela J. Busch and colleagues took the effort to review the studies on this aspect of therapeutic effects in fibraomyalgia patients.






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