Luciana Akemi Matsutani

Effectiveness of different styles of massage therapy in fibromyalgia: A systematic review and meta-analysis

The systematic review aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of massage in fibromyalgia. An electronic search was conducted at MEDLINE, SCiELO, EMBASE, ISI, PEDro, SPORTDiscus, CINAHL, Cochrane CENTRAL and LILACS (Jan 1990-May 2013). Ten randomized and non-randomized controlled trials investigating the effects of massage alone on symptoms and health-related quality of life of adult patients with fibromyalgia were included. Two reviewers independently screened records, examined full-text reports for compliance with the eligibility criteria, and extracted data. Meta-analysis (pooled from 145 participants) shows that myofascial release had large, positive effects on pain and medium effects on anxiety and depression at the end of treatment, in contrast with placebo; effects on pain and depression were maintained in the medium and short term, respectively. Narrative analysis suggests that: myofascial release also improves fatigue, stiffness and quality of life; connective tissue massage improves depression and quality of life; manual lymphatic drainage is superior to connective tissue massage regarding stiffness, depression and quality of life; Shiatsu improves pain, pressure pain threshold, fatigue, sleep and quality of life; and Swedish massage does not improve outcomes. There is moderate evidence that myofascial release is beneficial for fibromyalgia symptoms. Limited evidence supports the application of connective tissue massage and Shiatsu. Manual lymphatic drainage may be superior to connective tissue massage, and Swedish massage may have no effects. Overall, most styles of massage therapy consistently improved the quality of life of fibromyalgia patients.

Quality of life and discriminating power of two questionnaires in fibromyalgia patients: Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire and Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey

BACKGROUND Fibromyalgia is a painful syndrome characterized by widespread chronic pain and associated symptoms with a negative impact on quality of life. OBJECTIVES Considering the subjectivity of quality of life measurements, the aim of this study was to verify the discriminating power of two quality of life questionnaires in patients with fibromyalgia: the generic Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) and the specific Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ). METHODS A cross-sectional study was conducted on 150 participants divided into Fibromyalgia Group (FG) and Control Group (CG) (n=75 in each group). The participants were evaluated using the SF-36 and the FIQ. The data were analyzed by the Student t-test (α=0.05) and inferential analysis using the Receiver Operating Characteristics (ROC) Curve--sensitivity, specificity and area under the curve (AUC). The significance level was 0.05. RESULTS The sample was similar for age (CG: 47.8 ± 8.1; FG: 47.0 ± 7.7 years). A significant difference was observed in quality of life assessment in all aspects of both questionnaires (p<0.05). Higher sensibility, specificity and AUC were obtained by the FIQ (96%, 96%, 0.985, respectively), followed by the SF-36 (88%, 89% and 0.948 AUC). CONCLUSION The FIQ presented the highest sensibility, specificity and AUC showing the most discriminating power. However the SF-36 is also a good instrument to assess quality of life in fibromyalgia patients, and we suggest that both should be used in parallel because they evaluate relevant and complementary aspects of quality of life.

Prevalence of fibromyalgia: literature review update

The present study aimed to update the literature review on the prevalence of fibromyalgia published in 2006. A bibliographical survey was carried out from 2005 to 2014 in the MEDLINE, Web of Science, Embase, LILACS and SciELO databases and 3274 records were identified. Five researchers selected the studies, following the inclusion criteria: studies that obtained the prevalence of fibromyalgia. Fibromyalgia studies in associated diseases were excluded. When screening by title and abstract, 2073 irrelevant articles were excluded. The full texts of 210 articles were evaluated for eligibility and this review included 39 studies, described in 41 articles. The selected studies were grouped into four categories: (A) prevalence of fibromyalgia in the general population; (B) prevalence of fibromyalgia in women; (C) prevalence of fibromyalgia in rural and urban areas; (D) prevalence of fibromyalgia in special populations. The literature shows values of fibromyalgia prevalence in the general population between 0.2 and 6.6%, in women between 2.4 and 6.8%, in urban areas between 0.7 and 11.4%, in rural areas between 0.1 and 5.2%, and in special populations values between 0.6 and 15%. This literature review update shows a significant increase in fibromyalgia prevalence studies in the world. The new 2010 American College of Rheumatology criteria have not been widely used yet and the COPCORD (Community-oriented program for control of Rheumatic Diseases) methodology has increased the quality of studies on the prevalence of rheumatic diseases in general.

Exercícios de alongamento muscular e aeróbico no tratamento da fibromialgia: estudo piloto

INTRODUCTION: The physical exercises have been beneficial for the control of the fibromyalgia (FM) symptoms. OBJECTIVES: To compare the effects of stretching exercises to aerobic exercises on pain, number of tender points, sleep, anxiety and depression of patients with FM. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Nineteen patients with diagnosis of FM according to the American College of Rheumatology criteria were divided into two groups: the stretching group, with 12 patients, performed a program composed by 45 minutes eight sessions of stretching exercises once a week, and the aerobic group, with seven patients, carried out walking on a treadmill for 30 minutes. Both groups received orientation to exercise at home on the other days. Pain intensity, tenderness threshold at the tender points, sleep, anxiety and depression were evaluated by, respectively, visual analogic scale, dolorimeter, Post Sleep Inventory (PSI), Trait-State Anxiety Inventory (IDATE) and Beck Depression Scale (BDS). RESULTS: The data show that the clinical improvement was higher in the stretching group in relation to pain (25%), number of tender points (15%), sleep (38%) and depression (22%), compared to aerobic group (clinical improvement in pain was 2% and in sleep, 4%; the number of tender points and depression became worse, respectively 3% and 18%). The anxiety clinical improvement was more important in the aerobic group (8% in the trait anxiety and 10% in the state anxiety) compared to stretching group (the trait anxiety become worse at 3% and the state anxiety clinical improvement was 2%). CONCLUSION: This study suggests that the stretching exercises are more effective than the aerobic exercises on pain, number of tender points, sleep and depression in FM. On the other hand, the aerobic exercises seem to produce a more important effect on anxiety reduction compared to stretching exercises.

A prevalência de fibromialgia: atualização da revisão de literatura

The present study aimed to update the literature review on the prevalence of fibromyalgia (FM) published in 2006. A bibliographical survey was carried out from 2005 to 2014 in the MEDLINE, Web of Science, Embase, LILACS and SciELO databases and 3274 records were identified. Five researchers selected the studies, following the inclusion criteria: studies that obtained the prevalence of FM. FM studies in associated diseases were excluded. When screening by title and abstract, 2073 irrelevant articles were excluded. The full texts of 210 articles were evaluated for eligibility and this review included 39 studies, described in 41 articles. The selected studies were grouped into four categories: a) prevalence of FM in the general population; B) prevalence of FM in women; C) prevalence of FM in rural and urban areas; D) prevalence of FM in special populations. The literature shows values of FM prevalence in the general population between 0.2 and 6.6%, in women between 2.4 and 6.8%, in urban areas between 0.7 and 11.4%, in rural areas between 0.1 and 5.2%, and in special populations values between 0.6 and 15%. This literature review update shows a significant increase in FM prevalence studies in the world. The new 2010 American College of Rheumatology criteria have not been widely used yet and the COPCORD (Community-oriented program for control of Rheumatic Diseases) methodology has increased the quality of studies on the prevalence of rheumatic diseases in general.