Patients with Fibromayalgia Respond to Chiropractic

The May 2000 issue of the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapuetics reports that 60% of a group of patients with fibromyalgia responded very well to Chiropractic Care.

The patients in the study had fibromyalgia for more than 3 months and were adult members of a regional Fibromyalgia Association. Each participant was adjusted during 30 visits with self-administered assessments taken at the beginning of the study, after 15 visits, 30 visits and 30 days after completion of the study. Researchers were looking for improvement in three areas; pain intensity, fatigue level and sleep quality.

15 women completed the trial. 9 of them (60%) were classified as "respondents". Respondents were those participants who experienced at least a 50% improvement in pain intensity over the course of the study.

After 30 visits, the respondents showed an average lessening of 77.2% in pain intensity and an improvement of 63.5% in sleep quality and 74.8% in fatigue level. The improvement in all three areas continued after 1 month without chiropractic care.

A similar study in 1986 and reported in the American Journal of Medicine (1986; 81:7-14) found that 45.9% of people who had fibromyalgia and went to a chiropractor experienced moderate to great improvement. In the same study, anti-depressant medication benefited only 36.3% of those studied and exercise was limited to a 31.8% rate of improvement.

By way of commentary, there is absolutely no doubt that removing interference to your central nervous system by correcting vertebral subluxations helps restore the body's in-born, built-in ability to heal itself. Whether you suffer from a serious condition like fibromyalgia or not, you will benefit from chiropractic care. Your body will be healthier and function better as a result.