David Baxter PhD
Late Founder
Exercise can actually relieve some of the pain of fibromyalgia
by Dr. Marla Shapiro
March 30, 2010
Have you ever heard the term fibromyalgia? In the world of arthritis, this is a newer term, but it is a pretty common disease. According to the Canadian Arthritis Society, between 2% and 6% of all Canadians are affected. Women have it more commonly than men (four to one), and typically, we see it as people get older. It is most commonly seen in women over the age of 50.
Symptoms include pain and swelling in many joints or soft tissues. Other reported problems include difficulty sleeping, fatigue, weakness, stiffness, poor concentration and memory, and depression. As well, there can be irritable bowel and bladder issues and TMJ (pain in the jaw).
Many people with fibromyalgia feel like they are on a downward cycle. If you are in pain and not sleeping well, it makes sense that you are going to be very tired or fatigued during the day. Being in pain and having no energy makes it difficult to manage normal activities such as maintaining a job and housekeeping, as well as recreational pursuits. This can lead to stress and anxiety.
We don't really know what causes this condition. In some people it starts gradually while others associate it happening after a trigger, such as a car accident or infection with a virus.
As the Arthritis Society points out, while there is no cure for fibromyalgia, the goal of treatment is to help in the management of pain and other symptoms.
To be diagnosed, you must have experienced widespread pain for a period of three months or longer. The pain must be above and below the waist, and on both the left and right sides of the body. Another characteristic feature is something called trigger points - points that hurt when pushed. Typically, there are at least 11 distinct sites of deep muscle tenderness that hurt when touched firmly; these include the side of the neck, the top of the shoulder blade, the outside of the upper buttock and hip joint, and the inside of the knee.
While the treatment of fibromyalgia includes medication, wet heat and adjustments to lifestyle, exercise can be very helpful in managing the symptoms. It is easy to see how a vicious cycle of fatigue and lack of exercise happens. Decreased activity then causes the muscles to weaken, making future activity more difficult.
In this week's Arthritis Research & Therapy journal is a new study looking at patients with this diagnosis and increasing their lifestyle physical activity so that they accumulate at least 30 minutes throughout the day. The types of activity are moderate intensity, such as more walking, doing yard work or gardening, using the stairs, household activities such as vacuuming or cleaning out a closet, laundry and finally, sports activity, such as swimming.
In this study, one group was given counselling and support about fibromyalgia and the other group was educated not only on the disease but given support to gradually increase their moderate activity, so that they were breathing heavily during the activity but not so heavily that they could not hold a conversation.
At the end of the study, the group that was doing the lifestyle physical activity reported that they had less perceived functional deficits and most importantly, less pain.
This is encouraging that by breaking the cycle of pain and being sedentary, exercise is a powerful tool to help improve the quality of life for those with fibromyalgia.
While it isn't clear whether doing 30 minutes all at once is better than accumulating smaller bouts of activity throughout the day, the second approach is less taxing and easier to start and maintain over time.
by Dr. Marla Shapiro
March 30, 2010
Have you ever heard the term fibromyalgia? In the world of arthritis, this is a newer term, but it is a pretty common disease. According to the Canadian Arthritis Society, between 2% and 6% of all Canadians are affected. Women have it more commonly than men (four to one), and typically, we see it as people get older. It is most commonly seen in women over the age of 50.
Symptoms include pain and swelling in many joints or soft tissues. Other reported problems include difficulty sleeping, fatigue, weakness, stiffness, poor concentration and memory, and depression. As well, there can be irritable bowel and bladder issues and TMJ (pain in the jaw).
Many people with fibromyalgia feel like they are on a downward cycle. If you are in pain and not sleeping well, it makes sense that you are going to be very tired or fatigued during the day. Being in pain and having no energy makes it difficult to manage normal activities such as maintaining a job and housekeeping, as well as recreational pursuits. This can lead to stress and anxiety.
We don't really know what causes this condition. In some people it starts gradually while others associate it happening after a trigger, such as a car accident or infection with a virus.
As the Arthritis Society points out, while there is no cure for fibromyalgia, the goal of treatment is to help in the management of pain and other symptoms.
To be diagnosed, you must have experienced widespread pain for a period of three months or longer. The pain must be above and below the waist, and on both the left and right sides of the body. Another characteristic feature is something called trigger points - points that hurt when pushed. Typically, there are at least 11 distinct sites of deep muscle tenderness that hurt when touched firmly; these include the side of the neck, the top of the shoulder blade, the outside of the upper buttock and hip joint, and the inside of the knee.
While the treatment of fibromyalgia includes medication, wet heat and adjustments to lifestyle, exercise can be very helpful in managing the symptoms. It is easy to see how a vicious cycle of fatigue and lack of exercise happens. Decreased activity then causes the muscles to weaken, making future activity more difficult.
In this week's Arthritis Research & Therapy journal is a new study looking at patients with this diagnosis and increasing their lifestyle physical activity so that they accumulate at least 30 minutes throughout the day. The types of activity are moderate intensity, such as more walking, doing yard work or gardening, using the stairs, household activities such as vacuuming or cleaning out a closet, laundry and finally, sports activity, such as swimming.
In this study, one group was given counselling and support about fibromyalgia and the other group was educated not only on the disease but given support to gradually increase their moderate activity, so that they were breathing heavily during the activity but not so heavily that they could not hold a conversation.
At the end of the study, the group that was doing the lifestyle physical activity reported that they had less perceived functional deficits and most importantly, less pain.
This is encouraging that by breaking the cycle of pain and being sedentary, exercise is a powerful tool to help improve the quality of life for those with fibromyalgia.
While it isn't clear whether doing 30 minutes all at once is better than accumulating smaller bouts of activity throughout the day, the second approach is less taxing and easier to start and maintain over time.
