Exercise Therapy for Fibromyalgia

Fibromyalgia is a common chronic condition that causes widespread musculoskeletal pain, fatigue, and tenderness in specific areas of the body. For many people, the condition can also affect sleep, mood, energy levels, and daily function.

Exercise therapy has long been recognized as an effective treatment for fibromyalgia and may provide benefits comparable to certain medication-based approaches. Regular, guided exercise can help address central sensitivity syndromes, including fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome, by gradually improving how the nervous system responds to movement, effort, and pain.

Under the guidance of an experienced physical therapist, exercise therapy can be especially helpful. Physical therapists can design a program that begins at a safe, manageable level and progresses gradually. This is important because people with fibromyalgia may experience symptom flare-ups if they do too much too quickly.

Research using functional MRI has shown that exercise may help normalize communication between areas of the brain involved in pain processing, pain regulation, and personal experience of pain. Studies involving thousands of people with fibromyalgia have also found that exercise therapy can help reduce pain, improve physical function, support emotional well-being, reduce symptoms of depression, and decrease tenderness at painful points.

Exercise therapy for fibromyalgia often uses a graded approach. The program begins with movements or activities the person can tolerate comfortably, then slowly increases in intensity, duration, or complexity. With careful progression and professional support, exercise can become a powerful tool for managing fibromyalgia symptoms and improving quality of life.

If you know someone who struggles with the symptoms of fibromyalgia and could benefit from a supervised exercise plan, please tell them to give us a call today.

Sources:

Clauw D. Fibromyalgia: a clinical review. JAMA. 311 (15): 1547-1555.

Gustafson J, Hostetter J. Does physical therapy improve symptoms in fibromyalgia? Evidence-Based Practice. October; 18 (10): 10-11.