Effectiveness of Tai-Chi for Decreasing Acute Pain in Fibromyalgia Patients

Abstract

Tai-Chi has shown benefits in physical and psychological outcomes in diverse populations. We aimed to determine the changes elicited by a Tai-Chi program (12 and 24 weeks) in acute pain (before vs. after session) in fibromyalgia patients. We also assessed the cumulative changes in pain brought about by a Tai-Chi program. Thirty-six patients (29 women) with fibromyalgia participated in a low-moderate intensity Tai-Chi program for 12 weeks (3 sessions/week). Twenty-eight patients (27 women) continued the program for an additional 12 weeks (i. e., 24 weeks). We assessed pain by means of a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) before and after each single session (i. e., 72 sessions). We observed significant immediate changes (P-values from 0.037 to 0.0001) with an approximately 12% mean decrease of acute pain in the comparison of VAS-values before and after each session (72 sessions in total), with the exception of 4 sessions. We observed significant changes in cumulative pain pre-session (95% CI=-0.019; -0.014; P<0.001) and cumulative pain post-session (95% CI=-0.021; -0.015; P<0.001) along the 24-week intervention only. In conclusion, a low-moderate intensity Tai-Chi program for 12 weeks (3 times/week) decreased levels of acute pain in fibromyalgia patients. A longer period is necessary (e. g. 24 weeks) for observing cumulative changes in pain.

Association of sedentary time and physical activity with pain, fatigue, and impact of fibromyalgia: the al‐Ándalus study

“…The effect of diverse exercise interventions in fibromyalgia pain improvements is well documented (Segura‐Jiménez et al., , ; Rahman et al., ). The scientific literature shows that conventional exercise interventions and complementary and alternative exercise programs lead to pain improvements in this population (Carbonell‐Baeza et al., ; Segura‐Jiménez et al., , ).…”

“…The effect of diverse exercise interventions in fibromyalgia pain improvements is well documented (Segura‐Jiménez et al., , ; Rahman et al., ). The scientific literature shows that conventional exercise interventions and complementary and alternative exercise programs lead to pain improvements in this population (Carbonell‐Baeza et al., ; Segura‐Jiménez et al., , ). Despite the controversial low clinical relevance of these improvements, a recent study observed that exercise therapy might be even better than pharmacological interventions as a fibromyalgia treatment (Rahman et al., ), which highlights the strong link that seems to exist between fibromyalgia pain and physical exercise.…”

Tai Chi as a method of improving pain management in patients with fibromyalgia

“…Seemingly supervised Tai Chi can reduce symptoms in patients with FM. 7,[9][10][11][12] However, research is limited into the mechanism behind these positive outcomes. Wong…”

Nonpharmacologic Options for Treating Acute and Chronic Pain

“…Tai chi is a Chinese martial art based on slow, continuous movements coordinated with breathing to enable meditation with movement that seeks to balance internal energy, or qi, and mediate physical and psychologic well‐being. Low‐quality evidence supports the benefit of Tai Chi on tension headaches, LBP, fibromyalgia, and arthritis [40‐45], with the conditional recommendation from the American College of Rheumatology for patients with knee OA to participate in tai chi programs [46].…”