The effectiveness of home-based therapeutic exercises on adults with fibromyalgia: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

The objective of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to evaluate the effectiveness of home-based exercises (HBE) in alleviating pain, fatigue, depression, and anxiety and enhancing the quality of life (QOL) among adults with fibromyalgia. A comprehensive search was conducted across four databases PubMed, Cochrane, CINAHL (EBSCO), and PEDro to identify eligible randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Standardized mean differences (SMDs) at a 95% confidence interval (CI) were computed. Ten RCTs met the inclusion criteria, involving 601 participants, with a good-to-fair quality according to the PEDro scale. Of the 10 included studies, 3 compared HBE to no exercise, while 7 compared HBE to center-based exercises (CBE). HBE showed significant pain reduction (SMD = 0.775, P = 0.003) and improved QOL as measured by the fibromyalgia impact questionnaire (FIQ) (SMD = 0.621, P = 0.001) compared with no exercise, but there were no significant differences in depression and QOL as measured by SF-36 compared with CBE. In contrast, CBE demonstrated greater pain reduction (SMD = −1.325, P < 0.001) and improved FIQ scores (SMD = −0.843, P = 0.017) compared with HBE. In conclusion, HBE exhibit effectiveness in alleviating pain, and depression and enhancing QOL among fibromyalgia patients in comparison to no exercise. However, CBE are more effective in reducing pain and enhancing QOL than HBE, although HBE can be valuable for maintaining activity levels in fibromyalgia patients between treatment cycles.

The Role of Exercise to Improve Physiological, Physical and Psychological Health Outcome in Idiopathic Inflammatory Myopathies (IIM)

“… 91 Pain in IIM is an understudied area and current evidence suggests that adapted exercise results in unchanged pain levels. As in RA, exercise can also reduce pain in other populations, 119 , 120 thus the hypothesis is that exercise can also contribute to reduced pain in IIM. There is a need for future, well-designed exercise studies using validated measures of pain and fatigue as primary outcomes.…”

Fibromyalgia: one year in review 2024

“…Talking about settings, centre-based exercises demonstrated to be superior to home-based exercises (HBE) in terms of effectiveness in alleviating pain, improving depression and enhancing QoL. However, a program of HBE showed significant pain reduction when compared with no exercise (32). 36).…”

“…• Active therapies (such as resistance training, aerobic exercises, Pilates, muscle stretching exercises, mindbody techniques or aquatic training) demonstrated to be safe and effective in the management of FM. Settings and modalities of treatment should be modulated on patient's needs and major symptoms (31)(32)(33)(34)(35)(36)(37)(38)(39). • Among electrophysical agents, evidences about the effectiveness of TMS and tDCS (applicated adjacent to DLPFC or to M1) are growing; their mechanisms of action worth to be investigated more (40)(41)(42)(43)(44)(45)(46)(47).…”

Eicosapentaenoic Acid Modulates Transient Receptor Potential V1 Expression in Specific Brain Areas in a Mouse Fibromyalgia Pain Model

“…Currently, there is no cure for fibromyalgia, medication can only manage the symptoms. Nutrients, exercise, meditation, yoga, and relaxation may help [ 4 , 5 , 6 ]. Fibromyalgia can result from repeated nerve stimulation, also called central sensitization, or changes in the overexpression of neurotransmitters or neuromodulators in the brain.…”