Is the reason for change in pain in fibromyalgia patients due to the treatment modality used, or method of pain measurement? A literature review.
Item
- Title
- Is the reason for change in pain in fibromyalgia patients due to the treatment modality used, or method of pain measurement? A literature review.
- Author(s)
- Holmes, J
- Abstract
- Background: Fibromyalgia (FM) is a diagnosis that is frequently used for widespread pain, usually accompanied by fatigue, and sleep disturbances. Research into this debated and somewhat controversial diagnosis is vast, however a general consensus and base point for agreement of aetiology is absent. Objective: The objective was to critically scrutinise the current research surrounding different manual therapy modalities on patients with a diagnosis of FM with the aim of addressing any potential correlation between the method used to quantify pain, and improvement of this symptom. This was to address the question – Is the reason for change in pain due to the treatment modality used, or the method used to measure pain? Design: Structured literature review. Methods: Three databases were searched for studies between 2012 and 2018 using Boolean style keywords - PubMed, Cochrane library, and Science Direct database. The search returns were then subject to an inclusion and exclusion criteria to identify the appropriate literature. The Modified Jadad Scoring System (MJSS) was used to assess the quality – and identify potential bias in the studies. Results: Eight papers met the criteria for inclusion. Six studies scored adequately in the MJSS. Two studies involved osteopathic intervention, three involved massage therapy, and three involved massage therapy with accompanied exercises. The Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) was the most common method of measuring pain. Mean VAS change ranged between 0.1 and 2.9 units. Five out of eight studies concluded a clinically significant change in VAS post intervention. Osteopathic studies saw the highest improvement. The method of measuring pain did not influence results. Discussion: This review highlighted several quality limitations in the body of literature available. Not only was the amount of controlled trials surrounding FM scarce, but the overall quality of the studies was poor. Population inclusion and history was not adequate. Studies with further follow up time periods and more in-depth inclusion and exclusion criteria are needed. Conclusion: Manual therapy can be a valid and effective method of improving pain in the short-term, and the branch of manual therapy used does influence results. Osteopathic studies in this review revealed better results than message therapy. The number of pain measurement used, and method of pain measurement does not influence results.
- presented at
- European School of Osteopathy
- Date Accepted
- 2019
- Date Submitted
- 19.11.2019 18:31:09
- Type
- osteo_thesis
- Language
- English
- Submitted by:
- 62
- Pub-Identifier
- 16500
- Inst-Identifier
- 1229
- Keywords
- Fibromyalgia, Pain Measurement, Manual Therapy, Modified Jadad Scoring System
- Recommended
- 0
- Item sets
- Thesis
Holmes, J, “Is the reason for change in pain in fibromyalgia patients due to the treatment modality used, or method of pain measurement? A literature review.”, Osteopathic Research Web, accessed May 3, 2025, https://www.osteopathic-research.com/s/orw/item/329