Background/Purpose: Exercise is reported to help patients with the fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS). We wanted to know whether FMS patients, compared to non-FMS rheumatic disease patients, did try to exercise regularly and whether they felt they benefited from it.

Methods: We administered an in-office questionnaire to 191 FMS patients meeting the 2010 ACR criteria and 130 non-FMS rheumatic disease patients. Patients were asked about whether they exercise, what type of exercise they did, the duration and frequency, and whether they felt that exercise helped their symptoms.

Results: 77.4% of the FMS patients exercise compared to 89.2% of the non-FMS rheumatic disease patients (p< 0.007). With respect to whether the exercise helped their symptoms, non-FMS rheumatic disease patient benefited more. The mean VAS for pain improvement (0-10) was 6.19 in the non-FMS group, compared with 4.64 for FMS patients (p< 0001). The mean improvement in energy (VAS 0-10) for non-FMS patient was 7.08, vs 4.92 in the FMS group (p< 0001). The mean improvement in sleep (VAS 0-10) was 6.78 in non-FMS patients and 4.77 in FMS patients (p< 0001). Patients exercised using different methods including using a stationary bike, an outdoor bike, running outside or on the treadmill, walking, swimming, muscle strengthening, yoga, stretching. Although walking was the most common activity chosen by the FMS and non-FMS groups, there was no significant difference between the types of exercise in the two groups. Also exercise frequency and duration did not differ statistically between the two groups.

Conclusion: In this study there was no impact, good or bad, on pain, in fibromyalgia patients who exercised. There was also no improvement in energy or sleep related to exercise in fibromyalgia patients. On the other hand, non-fibromyalgia rheumatic disease patients did benefit from exercise in terms of pain, energy and sleep.

It is unclear why fibromyalgia patients don’t respond to exercise favorably. Possibly they do not feel they can exercise vigorously and don’t become physically fit. But for whatever reason, we did not find that exercise benefits fibromyalgia patients. 

ACR Meeting Abstracts - https://acrabstracts.org/abstract/comparing-patients-with-fibromyalgia-syndrome-with-non-fibromyalgia-rheumatic-disease-patients-regarding-exercise/