http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20010917/hl/fibro_1.html
Monday September 17 5:20 PM ET
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.
ALL
INFORMATION, DATA, AND MATERIAL CONTAINED, PRESENTED, OR PROVIDED HERE IS FOR
GENERAL INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED AS REFLECTING THE
KNOWLEDGE OR OPINIONS OF THE PUBLISHER, AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED OR INTENDED
AS PROVIDING MEDICAL OR LEGAL ADVICE. THE DECISION WHETHER OR NOT TO
VACCINATE IS AN IMPORTANT AND COMPLEX ISSUE AND SHOULD BE MADE BY YOU, AND YOU
ALONE, IN CONSULTATION WITH YOUR HEALTH CARE PROVIDER.