Aquatic and Resistance Training Most Effective for Fibromyalgia Pain Relief in Women: Study

Results: Sixty-one studies were identified, of which 51 were included in the quantitative synthesis (n = 2873). Fifteen TE interventions and eight comparison interventions (comparators) were identified. Aquatic exercise (p-score: 0.8713) was found to provide best benefits in the short-term and resistance training in the long-term (p-score: 0.9749). Statistically significant differences were found in favor of aquatic exercise, Pilates, qigong, resistance training, virtual reality, mixed exercise, and aerobic exercise (in the short-term) and in favor of resistance training, dance, functional training, aquatic exercise, virtual reality, and aerobic exercise (in the long-term) compared to usual care. With a moderate level of evidence, our NMA shows that, in the short-term, aquatic exercise is the most effective TE intervention to reduce pain intensity in women with fibromyalgia, while resistance training is the most effective in the long-term. More RCTs are needed to strengthen these findings.

Reference:

Rodríguez-Domínguez ÁJ, Rebollo-Salas M, Chillón-Martínez R, Rosales-Tristancho A, Villa-Del-Pino I, Jiménez-Rejano JJ. The most effective therapeutic exercises for pain intensity in women with fibromyalgia: A systematic review and network meta-analysis. Braz J Phys Ther. 2025 May 3;29(4):101226. doi: 10.1016/j.bjpt.2025.101226. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 40319533.