ORIGINAL ARTICLE  SPORT INJURIES AND REHABILITATION 

The Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness 2017 July-August;57(7-8):993-1002

DOI: 10.23736/S0022-4707.17.07025-6

Copyright © 2017 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

Benefits of a self-myofascial release program on health-related quality of life in people with fibromyalgia: a randomized controlled trial

Diego CECA ¹✉, Laura ELVIRA ¹, José F. GUZMÁN ², Ana PABLOS ¹

¹ Faculty of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences, “San Vicente Mártir” Catholic University of Valencia, Torrent, Valencia, Spain; ² Faculty of Physical Education and Sports, University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain

BACKGROUND: Fibromyalgia (FM) is a disease with symptoms that significantly limit the life of affected patients. Earlier studies have shown that the application of self-myofascial release provides benefits in variables such as fatigue, range of motion (ROM) or perceived muscle pain in a healthy population. Despite this, the self-myofascial release technique has not yet been used in people with FM. This study aimed to find out the benefits of applying a self-myofascial release program on health-related quality of life in people with FM.
METHODS: Sixty-six participants with FM were randomized into two groups, intervention (N.=33) and control (N.=33). The intervention group (IG) participated in the self-myofascial release program for twenty weeks. The study assessed the impact of a self-myofascial release program on cervical spine, shoulder and hip ROM and self-reported disease impact. Two measurements were performed, one at baseline (preintervention) and one postintervention. Two-way mixed-effect (between-within) ANOVA was used for the statistical analysis.
RESULTS: Significant changes (P<0.05) were achieved between the two measurements and between groups for final Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ-S) Score and for five of its seven subscales, including: days per week feeling good, pain intensity, fatigue, stiffness and depression/sadness, as well as all the ROM variables evaluated (neck flexion, neck extension, lateral neck flexion and rotation (bilateral), shoulder flexion and abduction and hip abduction) excluding hip flexion.
CONCLUSIONS: The application of a self-myofascial release program can improve the health-related quality of life of people with FM, provided that regular, structured practice is carried out.

KEY WORDS: Fibromyalgia - Quality of life - Fascia - Pain