Impact of rehabilitation intervention on fatigue,endurance and physical function in patients withfibromyalgia : a case - control study

Background. Fibromyalgia (FM), a chronic condition typically characterized by widespread pain, non restorative sleep, fatigue, cognitive dysfunction and other somatic symptoms, negatively impacts physical function. Rehabilitation is recommended in the management of people with FM. To evaluate the rehabilitation impact on fatigue, endurance and physical function at 6-month follow-up. Methods. Forty-one FM patients (39 female, 2 male, mean age 52.2 ± 9.21 yrs), were randomized to an exercise and educationalbehavioural programme group (Experimental Group, EG = 21) or to a control group (GC=20). Both groups maintained their own pharmacological therapy. Each subject was evaluated before, at the end (T1) and after 6 months from the beginning of the rehabilitation treatment using the Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ), the Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS), the 6-Minute Walking Test (6MWT) and a pocket goniometer (for spinal active range of motion). The protocol included 20 sessions (twice a week) under physiotherapist’s supervision, consisting in self-awareness, stretching, strengthening, spine flexibility and aerobic exercises, which patients were educated to perform at home. Results. The 2 groups were comparable at baseline. On intergroup comparison at T1, the EG showed improvement, although non statistically significant (p between 0.221 – 0.502) in the HAQ and FSS scales, and significant in the 6MWT and in most spinal active range of motion measurements (p between 0.001 – 0.04). The positive results achieved of the EG were maintained at the 6-month follow-up. Conclusions. FM patients show excellent adherence to exercise and an educational-behavioural programme with beneficial effects on endurance, fatigue and physical function.