Objective. Multidisciplinary treatments of fibromyalgia (FM) have demonstrated efficacy. Nevertheless, they have been criticized for not maintaining their benefits and for not being studied for specific populations. Our objectives were to determine the efficacy of a multidisciplinary treatment for FM adapted for patients with low educational levels and to determine the maintenance of its therapeutic benefits during a long-term followup period. Methods. Inclusion criteria consisted of female sex, a diagnosis of FM (using American College of Rheumatology criteria), age between 18 and 60 years, and between 3 and 8 years of schooling. Patients were randomly assigned to 1 of the 2 treatment conditions: conventional pharmacologic treatment or multidisciplinary treatment. Outcome measures were functionality, sleep disturbances, pain intensity, catastrophizing, and psychological distress. Analysis was by intent-totreat and missing data were replaced following the baseline observation carried forward method. Results. One hundred fifty-five participants were recruited. No statistically significant differences regarding pretreatment measures were found between the 2 experimental groups. Overall statistics comparison showed a significant difference between the 2 groups in all of the variables studied (P < 0.0001). Mixed linear model analysis demonstrated the superiority of the multidisciplinary treatment in all of the studied variables at posttreatment. The differences were maintained at 12-month followup in sleep disturbances (P < 0.0001), catastrophizing (P < 0.0001), and psychological distress (P < 0.01). Conclusion. Multidisciplinary treatment adapted for individuals with low educational levels is effective in reducing key symptoms of FM. Some improvements were maintained 1 year after completing the multidisciplinary treatment.

Because ankle proprioception is critical to the functional success of surgical and rehabilitation treatments, these results regarding proprioception are of particular importance because ankle taping is often used in preventing ankle sprains and it is a common treatment after ankle injuries.

Multidisciplinary treatments have shown to be effective for fibromyalgia. We report detailed functional outcomes of patients with fibromyalgia who attended a 3-month Multidisciplinary treatment program. The hypothesis was that patients would have increased functional status, physical activity level, and exercise regularity after attending this program. We performed a retrospective analysis of a randomized, simple blinded clinical trial. The inclusion criteria consisted of female sex, a diagnosis of fibromyalgia, age 18-60  and 3-8 years of schooling. Measures from the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ) and the COOP/WONCA Functional Health Assessment Charts (WONCA) were obtained before and at the end of the treatment and at 3-, 6-, and 12-month follow-ups. Patients recorded their number of steps per day with pedometers. They performed the six-minute walk test (6 MW) before and after treatment. In total, 155 women participated in the study. Their median (interquartile interval) FIQ score was 68.0 (53.0-77.0) at the beginning of the treatment, and the difference between the Multidisciplinary and Control groups was statistically and clinically significant in all of the measures (except the 6-month follow-up). The WONCA charts showed significant clinical improvements in the Multidisciplinary group, with physical fitness in the normal range across almost all values. In that group, steps/day showed more regularity, and the 6 MW results showed improvement of -33.00 (-59.8 to -8.25) m, and the differences from the Control group were statistically significant. The patients who underwent the Multidisciplinary treatment had improved functional status, physical activity level, and exercise regularity. The functional improvements were maintained 1 year after treatment completion.

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Background Fibromyalgia (FM) is a musculoskeletal chronic pain condition with low response to pharmacological conventional treatment (CPhT). Multidisciplinary treatment (MT) has showed efficacy in improving FM symptoms. Nevertheless, MT has not been studied in patients with FM and obesity. Objectives To compare the benefits of the CPhT versus the MT (with pharmacological, cognitive-behavioural, and physiotherapy treatments) in a sample of women with FM and obesity (Body Mass Index ≥30). Methods 44 women with obesity and FM according to the American College of Rheumatology criteria. Mean age 49.9 years (S.D. 6.4). 21 patients attended CPhT and 23 MT. Patients were assessed before treatment, after treatment, and at 3-6-12 month follow-up. Outcomes were: pain intensity (Numeric Rating Scale), functionality (FIQ), psychological distress (HADS), quality of life (COOP-WONCA), and sleep problems (Medical Outcome Study: MOS). Results The interaction group x time with mixed linear model analyses demonstrated that patients of the MT group improved more than patients of the CPhT group in pain intensity (p<.001), functionality (p<.0001), quality of life (p<.05), and sleep index problems (p<.001). Conclusions MT consisting of pharmacological treatment, cognitive-behavioural psychological treatment and physiotherapy improves FM symptoms in women with FM and obesity. Improvements were maintained at follow-up. Supported by the Foundation Maratό Grant Number 070910 Disclosure of Interest None Declared