Strengthening exercise in treatment of fibromyalgia
Näytönastekatsaukset
3.3.2026
Level of evidence: D
Strengthening exercise may reduce fibromyalgia-related pain and increase quality of life, but the evidence is very uncertain.
A systematic review «Wang JJ, Tam KW, Hsiao HY, et al. Effect of Resistance Exercises on Function and Pain in Fibromyalgia: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. Am J Phys Med Rehabil 2024»1 measured the impact of strengthening exercise, strengthening exercise protocols or supervised exercise on fibromyalgia symptoms. Aerobic exercise led to an increase in fibromyalgia-related quality of life (i.e. decrease in total fibromyalgia symptoms) and decrease in pain (relative decrease 41% compared to control).
The level of evidence was downgraded due to lack of blinding of study participants and outcome assessment, inconsistency in findings and imprecision.
Adverse events were not assessed.
| Reference | Study type | Population | Intervention and comparison | Outcomes | Risk of bias |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RCT=randomized controlled trial; SR=systematic review; MA=meta-analysis | |||||
| «Wang JJ, Tam KW, Hsiao HY, et al. Effect of Resistance Exercises on Function and Pain in Fibromyalgia: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. Am J Phys Med Rehabil 2024»1 | SR and MA | Adults with Fibromyalgia | Strengthening exercise vs usual care or wait list or flexibility exercises | Health-related quality of life FIQ), Pain intensity, physical function, adverse events | high |
| Reference | Comments |
|---|---|
| «Wang JJ, Tam KW, Hsiao HY, et al. Effect of Resistance Exercises on Function and Pain in Fibromyalgia: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. Am J Phys Med Rehabil 2024»1 | Participants were not blinded in most studies. Most trials tested supervised exercise programs of from 8 to 21 weeks vs control. |
Results
| Reference | Number of studies and number of patients (I/C) | Follow-up time | Mean (SD) I | Mean (SD) C | Mean difference (95% CI) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Level of evidence: very low The quality of evidence is downgraded due to study limitations, inconsistency and imprecision. I= intervention; C=comparison; CI=confidence interval | |||||
| «Wang JJ, Tam KW, Hsiao HY, et al. Effect of Resistance Exercises on Function and Pain in Fibromyalgia: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. Am J Phys Med Rehabil 2024»1 | 3 studies (61/58) | 8-21 weeks | not reported | not reported, | -13.68 (-24.55 to -2.80) |
| Reference | Number of studies and number of patients (I/C) | Follow-up time | Mean (SD) I | Mean (SD) C | Mean difference (95% CI) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Level of evidence: very low The quality of evidence is downgraded due to study limitations, inconsistency and imprecision. I= intervention; C=comparison; CI=confidence interval | |||||
| «Wang JJ, Tam KW, Hsiao HY, et al. Effect of Resistance Exercises on Function and Pain in Fibromyalgia: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. Am J Phys Med Rehabil 2024»1 | 3 studies (57/54) | 8-21 weeks | not reported | 6,39 | -2,63 (-4.63 to -0.63) Relative change – 41% |
| Reference | Number of studies and number of patients (I/C) | Follow-up time | Mean (SD) I | Mean (SD) C | Std. Mean difference (95% CI) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Level of evidence: low The quality of evidence is downgraded due to study limitations and imprecision. I= intervention; C=comparison; CI=confidence interval | |||||
| «Wang JJ, Tam KW, Hsiao HY, et al. Effect of Resistance Exercises on Function and Pain in Fibromyalgia: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. Am J Phys Med Rehabil 2024»1 | 5 studies (85/81) | 8-21 weeks | not reported | not reported, range | -0.45 (-0.77 to -0.14, favoring exercise |
References
- Wang JJ, Tam KW, Hsiao HY, et al. Effect of Resistance Exercises on Function and Pain in Fibromyalgia: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. Am J Phys Med Rehabil 2024;103(4):275-283 «PMID: 37535560»PubMed