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The aim of the present study was to determine the reliability and feasibility of physical fitness tests in female fibromyalgia patients. 100 female fibromyalgia patients (aged 50.6±8.6 years) performed the following tests twice (7 days interval test-retest): chair sit and reach, back scratch, handgrip strength, arm curl, chair stand, 8 feet up and go, and 6-min walk. Significant differences between test and retest were found in the arm curl (mean difference: 1.25±2.16 repetitions, Cohen d=0.251), chair stand (0.99±1.7 repetitions, Cohen d=0.254) and 8 feet up and go (-0.38±1.09 s, Cohen d=0.111) tests. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) range from 0.92 in the arm curl test to 0.96 in the back scratch test. The feasibility of the tests (patients able to complete the test) ranged from 89% in the arm curl test to 100% in the handgrip strength test. Therefore, the reliability and feasibility of the physical fitness tests examined is acceptable for female fibromyalgia patients.

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Objective. To characterize the levels of objectively measured time spent in sedentary activities (sedentary time) and physical activities in female patients with fibromyalgia and compare them with the levels in agematched healthy control women.Methods. The study comprised 413 female patients with fibromyalgia (mean 6 SD age 51.9 6 7.4 years) and 188 female control subjects (age 50.9 6 7.5 years). Sedentary time, the amount of time spent engaged in physical activity, and step counts were measured using triaxial accelerometry. The amounts of time (minutes/day) during which the participants were engaged in sedentary behaviors as well as in physical activity of different intensities (light, moderate, and moderate-to-vigorous) and the step counts were calculated.Results. The amount of time spent in sedentary behavior was longer in patients with fibromyalgia compared with controls (estimated mean 6 SEM difference 39 6 8 minutes/day; P < 0.001). The patients with fibromyalgia spent less time than controls engaged in light physical activity (mean 6 SEM difference 221 6 7 minutes/ day; P 5 0.005), moderate physical activity (mean 6 SEM difference 217 6 3 minutes/day; P < 0.001), and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (mean 6 SEM difference 219 6 3 minutes/day; P < 0.001). The patients with fibromyalgia took fewer steps/day compared with the control subjects (mean 6 SEM difference 21,881 6 262 steps/ day; P < 0.001). Only 20.6% of the patients with fibromyalgia and 46.3% of the control subjects fulfilled the recommendation for 150 minutes/week of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity in bouts of at least 10 minutes/bout (x 2 5 41.8, P < 0.001). Similarly, only 16.0% of the patients fulfilled the recommendation for ‡10,000 steps/ day compared with 44.7% of the control subjects (x 2 5 56.8, P < 0.001). Both the patients and the control subjects were more active (physical activity of all intensities and numbers of steps) on weekdays than on weekend days (all P £ 0.001).Conclusion. Female patients with fibromyalgia spent more time in sedentary behaviors and were less physically active than age-matched controls. The low proportions of female patients with fibromyalgia and control subjects who met the physical activity and step count recommendations is worrisome.

Parraca JA, Olivares PR, Carbonell-Baeza A, Aparicio VA, Adsuar JC, Gusi N. Test-Retest reliability of Biodex Balance SD on physically active old people. J. Hum. Sport Exerc. Vol. 6, No. 2, pp. 444-451, 2011. The purpose of this study was to determine the reliability of the Biodex Balance System in elderly. Fortyfive subjects aged 66±5.5 years old and weight 71.6±9.8 kg were tested on the Biodex Balance System. In order to calculate the reliability, the Fall Risk Test (FRt) and the Postural Stability Test (PSt) were measured on two separate occasions 7 days apart. Every subject completed the Falls Efficacy ScaleInternational (FES-I) questionnaire the first day of testing. The Fall Risk Index (FRi) showed a good ICC (.80) and a low percentage of variation of method error. The Overall Stability Index (OSi) showed a good and acceptable reliability measured by the ICC (.69) but a percentage of variation of method error near to 25%. FES-I Score was 23.1 (±7.2). The reliability of the BBS using Bland-Altman method showed that systematic errors (mean difference between test-retest) for the balance test developed were nearly zero and the 95% limits of agreement narrow, indicating a good reliability of the measurement. Biodex balance measures were showed reliable and may be useful for measuring the risk of falls and monitoring programs for prevent falls in elderly. This study revealed that fall risk assessment in older people must be incorporated into the evaluation process of the physical functioning.

The arm curl, 30-s chair stand, and handgrip strength tests powerfully discriminated women with fibromyalgia from healthy women. Identification of women who fail to meet the suggested standards can help to easily, quickly, and cheaply rule out the presence of the disease, especially in primary care settings.

Objective. This population-based cross-sectional study aimed to characterize the association of different components of physical fitness with pain levels, pain-related catastrophizing, and chronic pain self-efficacy in women with fibromyalgia (FM). Methods. A total of 468 women with FM participated. The experience of pain was assessed with different tools (algometry, a numeric rating scale [revised FM impact questionnaire], a visual analog scale, and the bodily pain subscale on the Short Form 36 health survey). We also assessed pain-related catastrophizing and chronic pain self-efficacy. Physical fitness was assessed with performance-based tests (Senior Fitness Test battery and handgrip dynamometry). A standardized composite score was computed for each component of physical fitness (aerobic fitness, muscle strength, flexibility, and motor agility), and their average comprised a clustered global fitness profile. Results. Overall, higher physical fitness was consistently associated with lower levels of pain, lower pain-related catastrophizing, and higher chronic pain self-efficacy (regardless of the pain assessment method and the fitness test evaluated). Muscle strength and flexibility were independently associated with pain (P < 0.005 for both), and participants with high muscle strength plus high flexibility (combined effect) had the lowest levels of pain in this population. Aerobic fitness and flexibility were independently associated with pain-related catastrophizing (P < 0.001 for both) and chronic pain self-efficacy (P < 0.001 for both), and participants with high flexibility plus high aerobic fitness (combined effect) had the best catastrophizing and self-efficacy profiles. Conclusion. Our results suggest that higher physical fitness is associated with lower levels of pain, lower pain-related catastrophizing, and higher chronic pain self-efficacy in women with FM. These results might have implications for future intervention studies in this population.

Subjective physical function is more impaired than objective physical function in fibromyalgia, yet both are markedly impaired. Catastrophizing cognitions are associated with this discordance. In particular, high catastrophizing may promote a feeling of reduced ability to do meaningful activities of daily living (i.e., restrictions) that people with fibromyalgia are actually able to. Therefore, catastrophizing should be assessed and potentially targeted when focusing on improving physical function in fibromyalgia. Implications for rehabilitation Rehabilitation should focus on physical exercise programs to help women with fibromyalgia to improve their reduced physical function. In rehabilitation settings, physical function of people with fibromyalgia should be evaluated by both subjective and objective assessments to fully understand physical functioning and to test the existence of discordance between both assessments. In case of a large discordance between subjective and objective physical function, a physical exercise program might be better complemented with cognitive management techniques to reduce catastrophizing and subjective physical dysfunction. When people with fibromyalgia experience high levels of catastrophizing, subjective assessments seem to be poor indicators of physical function.