The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of upper and lower body extremity strengthening exercise in patients with Fibromyalgia (FM) within an existing multidisciplinary treatment program.
Patients between the ages of 18-65 with the medical diagnosis of FM.
Comparative study design. The control and experimental group received the same multidisciplinary treatment except that the experimental group performed upper and lower extremity strengthening exercises.
The Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ) was administered at evaluation and discharge from the program in order to measure change in quality of life (QOL).
Statistically significant changes in FIQ scores were found for both groups. The addition of extremity strengthening in the experimental group produced an average 4 points greater reduction in FIQ score, however, these results are not considered statistically significant.
This study appears to validate the success of a multidisciplinary approach in treating patients with FM, with the possibility for further benefit with the addition of extremity strengthening.