A Cochrane review measured the impact of aerobic exercise, aerobic exercise protocols and supervised aerobic exercise. The pooled assessment suggested about 18% decrease in pain and 15% increase in quality of life (i.e. reduction in total fibromyalgia symptoms).
The Cochrane review also reported a possible 8% improvement in fatigue (-0.4% to 16%) «Bidonde J, Busch AJ, Schachter CL, et al. Aerobic ...»1.
The level of evidence was downgraded due to lack of blinding of study participants, outcome assessment and imprecise estimates.
Adverse events were rare. One study reported one metatarsal stress fracture.
| Reference | Study type | Population | Intervention and comparison | Outcomes | Risk of bias |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RCT=randomized controlled trial; SR=systematic review; MA=meta-analysis | |||||
| «Bidonde J, Busch AJ, Schachter CL, et al. Aerobic ...»1 | SR and MA | Adults with Fibromyalgia | Aerobic exercise vs usual care or wait list or other interventions | Health-related quality of life, Pain intensity, Fatigue, physical function, adverse events | high |
| Reference | Comments |
|---|---|
| «Bidonde J, Busch AJ, Schachter CL, et al. Aerobic ...»1 | Participants were not blinded in most studies. Only 1 study had low risk of bias regarding
blinded outcome assessment regarding self-reported outcomes (HRQL, Pain, Fatigue,
physical function). Most trials tested supervised exercise programs 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: low The quality of evidence is downgraded due to study limitations and imprecision. I= intervention; C=comparison; CI=confidence interval |
|||||
| «Bidonde J, Busch AJ, Schachter CL, et al. Aerobic ...»1 | 5 studies (228/144) | 12-24 weeks | not reported | Not reported, Range 54-63.7 | -7.89 (-13.23 to -2.55) relative change: 15% (5% to 24%) better |
| Reference | Number of studies and number of patients (I/C) | Follow-up time | Mean (SD) I | Mean (SD) C | Mean difference (95% CI) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| «Bidonde J, Busch AJ, Schachter CL, et al. Aerobic ...»1 | 6 studies (210/141) | 6-24 weeks | not reported | not reported, range 56- 80.5 | -11.06 (-18.34 to -3.77) relative change: 18% (7% to 30%) better |
| Level of evidence: low The quality of evidence is downgraded due to study limitations and imprecision. I= intervention; C=comparison; CI=confidence interval |
|||||
| Reference | Number of studies and number of patients (I/C) | Follow-up time | Mean (SD) I | Mean (SD) C | Mean difference (95% CI) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| «Bidonde J, Busch AJ, Schachter CL, et al. Aerobic ...»1 | 3 studies (159/87) | 8-24 weeks | not reported | not reported, range 29-49 | -10.16 (-15.39 to -4.94) |
| Level of evidence: low The quality of evidence is downgraded due to study limitations and imprecision. I= intervention; C=comparison; CI=confidence interval |
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