Treatment of Fibromyalgia with Osteopathy

Fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) is characterized by chronic musculoskeletal pain and palpable tenderness at specific anatomic sites. A previous study by the authors confirmed the effectiveness of manipulative therapy in the treatment of fibromyalgia (FMS). The present study was designed to determine if patient education affected the outcome of manipulative therapy and to utilize more sophisticated measures of the patient's perceived well-being to detect real difference among patient groups.

This study employed a repeated measures design. There were three treatment groups and one control group. The treatment group received: 1) manipulation, 2) manipulation and self-teaching, 3) moist heat.

Baseline data was collected at weeks two, four, seven, eleven, fifteen, nineteen, and twenty-three. A 15-item pain index (Pain Management Inventory), a portion of the McGill Pain Questionnaire, and a Depression Scale was administered to each subject at each visit. Multiple analysis of variance was used to test the effects of treatment over time.

The manipulation groups were found to not significantly lower levels of perceived pain than did the other two groups. The finding of this study confirm the effectiveness of manipulative therapy in the treatment of fibromyalgia syndrome and suggest that self-teaching may offer additional benefits as well.
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Treatment of fibromyalgia with osteopathic manipulation and self-learned techniques. RG Gamber, DO, et al37th Annual AOA Research Conference Abstracts, 1993