Effects of a Physical Exercise Program on Patients Affected with Fibromyalgia

BACKGROUND: physical activity has been used for a number of years in the treatment of fibromyalgia (FM). The main objective of this study is to compare the effects of physical activity on 2 groups of women diagnosed with FM in terms of pain, quality of life and the impact of the condition on their daily lives. METHODS: this was a randomized clinical trial to assess the effects of physical activity performed by subjects assigned to one of 2 groups on the scores of 3 questionnaires, the pain Visual Analog Scale (EVA), the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ) and the SF-36 health questionnaire administered before and after the intervention. RESULTS: A total of 24 subjects were randomly assigned to each of the 2 study groups. No significant differences were found after the program of 3 months of physical activity ended. CONCLUSIONS: Our study shows that a physical activity program with duration of less than 3 months does not significantly improve any of the factors studied.