|
Fibromyalgia
Improves
Over Time;
Exercise Helps
NEW
YORK (Reuters Health) - Patients with fibromyalgia find that exercise
is more effective in easing their symptoms than medication or
alternative treatments, according to a new report.
Researchers
led by Dr. Reino Poyhia of Helsinki University Central Hospital
in Finland also found that fibromyalgia patients' symptoms tended
to get better with time.
Fibromyalgia
is a chronic condition, often accompanied by depression and fatigue,
in which a person feels pain in the muscles and tissues surrounding
the joints. Nine in 10 fibromyalgia patients are female. While
the cause of fibromyalgia is unknown, researchers have found pain-processing
abnormalities in the spines and brain stems of those with fibromyalgia.
Poyhia and
colleagues evaluated 59 women with fibromyalgia annually for 3
years, beginning in 1995. On average, the patients' symptoms had
lasted for 11.2 years.
Overall, average
pain according to a visual scale and count of the body's tender
points declined significantly from the beginning of the study,
the investigators report in Arthritis Care & Research for August.
The biggest changes were observed at the 1-year evaluation.
At the different
timepoints, 27% to 36% of patients reported a 30% or better improvement
in pain. Only 17% of patients experienced a worsening of their
symptoms that remained throughout the study.
Over time,
patients tended to reduce their use of medications, which included
acetaminophen, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents, antidepressants
and tranquilizers. Alternative treatments were used increasingly
at the second and third years. Physical exercise was identified
most often as the treatment perceived to be most helpful.
The investigators
conclude that the overall decline in pain scores suggests that
``the course of this condition may be more favorable than has
previously been reported.''
SOURCE:
Arthritis Care & Research 2001;45:355-361.
Reference
Source 89
For more information on how to prevent other diseases, use
PreventDisease.com's "Quick
Prevention Resources".
|
