Effects of resistance training on pain, functionality and quality of life in women with fibromyalgia: A systematic review

Abstract

Introduction: Fibromyalgia is a chronic syndrome characterized by constant and generalized pain associated with sleep disturbance, depression, muscle stiffness, fatigue and cognitive disorders. Among non-pharmacological treatments, physical exercise stands out as a low-cost approach.

Aim: To summarize and analyze evidence on the effects of resistance training on pain, functionality and quality of life in women with fibromyalgia.

Methods: Following the PRISMA method, this systematic review included clinical trials assessing the effects of resistance training on pain, quality of life and functionality in female patients with fibromyalgia, regardless age. The researches were conducted in April 2021 in PubMed, Cochrane, Web of Science and Scopus databases, using the search strategy: ("fibromyalgia") AND ("strength training" OR "resistance training") AND ("quality of life" OR "pain" OR "functionality"). This study was registered in PROSPERO (CRD number: 42,021,246,245), and the risk of bias was assessed using the Version 2 of the Cochrane Risk-of-Bias tool (RoB 2).

Results: The search resulted in 125 studies (760 women), of which 16 were eligible for this review. Risk of bias assessment resulted in high (n = 5), moderate (n = 6) and low (n = 5) risks. Resistance training has proven to be an important non-pharmacological treatment tool for fibromyalgia, reducing pain, and improving patients' functionality and quality of life.

Conclusion: The available evidence suggests that resistance training performed twice weekly, with progressive loads ranging from 40 to 80% of one-repetition maximum and a total duration of 4-24 weeks, appears to be an effective and safe therapeutic approach.

Keywords: Disease; Movement; Rheumatology.