Low-Intensity Physical Exercise Improves Pain Catastrophizing and Other Psychological and Physical Aspects in Women with Fibromyalgia: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract

Fibromyalgia (FM) is a chronic syndrome characterized by widespread pain and other physical and psychological features. In this study, we aimed to analyze the effect of a low-intensity physical exercise (PE) program, combining endurance training and coordination, on psychological aspects (i.e., pain catastrophizing, anxiety, depression, stress), pain perception (i.e., pain acceptance, pressure pain threshold (PPT), and quality of life and physical conditioning (i.e., self-perceived functional capacity, endurance and functional capacity, power and velocity) in women with FM. For this purpose, a randomized controlled trial was carried out. Thirty-two women with FM were randomly allocated to a PE group (PEG, n = 16), performing an eight-week low-intensity PE program and a control group (CG, n = 16). Pain catastrophizing, anxiety, depression, stress, pain acceptance, PPT, quality of life, self-perceived functional capacity, endurance and functional capacity, power, and velocity were assessed before and after the intervention. We observed a significant improvement in all studied variables in the PEG after the intervention (p < 0.05). In contrast, the CG showed no improvements in any variable, which further displayed poorer values for PPT (p < 0.05). In conclusion, a low-intensity combined PE program, including endurance training and coordination, improves psychological variables, pain perception, quality of life, and physical conditioning in women with FM.

Immediate Effects of a Telerehabilitation Program Based on Aerobic Exercise in Women with Fibromyalgia

“…However, the mean value at the end of the treatment was higher than 8 points, considered the marked score for the diagnosis of psychological distress [ 45 ]. These results are similar to previous studies showing that aerobic exercise reduces pain intensity, mechanical pain sensitivity, and psychological distress [ 16 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 ], however, in this clinical trial, we achieved improvements with a TP without face-to-face sessions.…”

“…Recent studies showed that individualized low-intensity aerobic exercise was well-tolerated by patients with FM [ 14 , 15 , 16 ]. These studies achieved positive effects on pain intensity, FM impact, hyperalgesia, physical function, catastrophizing, and psychological distress [ 14 , 15 , 16 ], without major adverse events [ 14 ]. In addition, aerobic exercise showed lower costs and larger positive effects compared to usual care [ 17 ].…”

Does the Addition of Pain Neurophysiology Education to a Therapeutic Exercise Program Improve Physical Function in Women with Fibromyalgia Syndrome? Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Controlled Trial

“…According to this, all patients presented high fatigue levels, severe sleep disturbances, and poor physical function. These baseline results are similar to those of previous studies that included patients with FMS [ 16 , 32 , 33 , 34 ]. Cardiorespiratory fitness and muscle strength are the central components of the physical requirements for work and daily life activities and are correlated with pain intensity and sleep disturbances.…”

“…Therapeutic exercise (TE) is one of the most investigated approaches for the management of FMS. Aerobic exercise, strengthening, and their combination have shown similar effects in improving fatigue, sleep disturbances, and physical function [ 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 ]. The effects of patient education have also been investigated in patients with chronic conditions.…”

Chronic musculoskeletal pain, catastrophizing, and physical function in adult women were improved after 3-month aerobic-resistance circuit training

“…There have only been few reports on the effects of aerobic-resistance circuit training on pain. Circuit training has been reported to decrease postoperative pain after total knee arthroplasty 27 and pain perception in women with fibromyalgia 28 . Although these studies focused on postoperative pain and pain perception, the effect of aerobic-resistance circuit training for reducing CMP is still unknown.…”