Review Finds Aerobic Exercise Benefits Fibromyalgia Patients

A review published in the “Cochrane Library” stated that aerobic exercise may be beneficial to patients suffering from fibromyalgia. Aerobic exercises such as swimming and walking are known to improve cardiovascular conditioning, in addition to other benefits. These include helping control weight and blood sugar, lowering an individual’s blood pressure, improving circulation and strengthening the heart.

The systematic literature review was conducted by researchers from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health in Oslo, led by Julia Bidonde.

Fibromyalgia is a disorder characterized by musculoskeletal pain that is normally accompanied by mood and memory issues, sleep issues and fatigue. Experts believe that the disorder intensifies painful sensations by affecting how an individual’s spinal cord and brain processes painful and nonpainful signals.

Fibromyalgia symptoms are often triggered by events such as considerable psychological stress, infection, surgery and physical trauma. Research has shown that in comparison with men, women are more likely to develop fibromyalgia. Most individuals with fibromyalgia also suffer from depression, anxiety, irritable bowel syndrome, temporo-mandibular joint disorders and tension headaches.

For their study, the researchers included data from more than 10 randomized controlled trials, which involved more than 800 adults with fibromyalgia. The average age of the participants was 41 years, with the oldest patient being 56 years old and the youngest 32 years old.

The trials compared the effectiveness of aerobic training compared to other interventions or no exercise. On average, exercise sessions were offered two to three times every week for 35 minutes in every session. These exercises included aquacise, running, cycling and walking as well as low-impact aerobics.

The researchers observed positive effects of aerobic exercise in individuals’ health-related quality of life, including fatigue, physical function, stiffness and pain intensity, in comparison with the control group. The researchers also found that in pooled analysis, the risk ratio was moderate for withdrawals.

The study results note that based on low-quality evidence from three trials that focused on long-term effects, while the benefits for function and pain continued, those for fatigue and health-related quality of life didn’t. In addition to this, the researchers highlight that while minor adverse events were reported, reporting wasn’t consistent in the studies.

In their conclusion, the researchers wrote that they observed that aerobic exercise was well tolerated, adding that despite this, they were uncertain about the exercise’s safety as evidence on its adverse events were scant.

Other researchers involved in the study include Heather JA Foulds, Catherine Boden, Suelen M. Góes, Soo Y Kim, Tom J Overend, Candice L Schachter and Angela J Busch.

As more companies invest in researching new therapies for fibromyalgia, patients can look forward to remedies that may provide lasting relief without major side effects.

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