The following is a summary of “Clinical relevance of resistance training in women with fibromyalgia: A systematic review and meta-analysis,” published in the July 2023 issue of Pain by Domínguez et al.

There has been a rise in papers evaluating the effects of resistance training (RT) in patients with fibromyalgia. Researchers performed a retrospective study, focused on pain intensity, functionality, and severity to assess the clinical relevance and effectiveness of RT in women with fibromyalgia. Randomized controlled trials involving women over 18 years old with fibromyalgia were searched for in several databases. The systematic review included 15 trials, 3 meta-analyses integrated most, using 14 trials. Assessed study quality using the PEDro scale, followed by GRADE recommendations.

The results showed the RT and control groups demonstrated significant differences in pain intensity, as indicated by the global meta-analysis,(SMD =−0.49; 95% CI [−0.74, −0.24], P=0.0001), functionality (SMD =−0.23; 95% CI [0.01, 0.45], P= 0.04), and disease severity (SMD =−0.58; 95% CI [−0.90, −0.26], P= 0.0005). RT demonstrated clinically relevant improvements in all three variables studied.

Investigators concluded that women with fibromyalgia benefit from RT trials, but more support is needed to improve pain intensity and functionality.

Source: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ejp.2161