Adjustments Help Fibromyalgia Patients

Twenty-one rheumatology patients aged 25-70 and suffering from fibromyalgia (muscular pain characterized by muscle tautness/stiffness, well-defined tender/trigger points, numbness, tingling, and lancinating pain) were studied to demonstrate the effectiveness of chiropractic management techniques in improving their condition. Patients were randomly assigned to a four-week chiropractic treatment group or a "waiting list" group that did not receive chiropractic care for the four weeks. Treatment consisted of spinal manipulation, soft-tissue therapy and passive stretching techniques.

Chiropractic intervention resulted in improvements in patients' cervical and lumbar ranges of motion, straight-leg- raise tests and reported pain levels, as opposed to the group that received no such intervention. However, while these improvements demonstrated the potential for clinical application, only right-cervical lateral flexion and rotation showed improvement to a statistically significant degree. These findings suggest that chiropractic can play a role in reducing pain and increasing the functional capabilities of patients suffering from fibromyalgia.

Blunt KL, Rajwani MH, Guerriero RC. The effectiveness of chiropractic management of fibromyalgia patients: a pilot study. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, July/August 1997;20(6), pp389-99. Reprints: Tel: (800) 638-6423; Fax: (410) 528-8596