Is Pilates beneficial for Fibromyalgia?
as at 16 October 2024

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Introduction

Fibromyalgia is a chronic condition characterized by widespread musculoskeletal pain, fatigue, sleep disturbances, and reduced quality of life. Various forms of exercise, including Pilates, have been explored as potential treatments to alleviate the symptoms of fibromyalgia.


Key Insights
  • Pain Reduction and Functional Improvement:
    • Pilates significantly reduces pain and improves functional status in fibromyalgia patients compared to control groups performing relaxation/stretching exercises. 1, 2, 3, 4, 6
    • Both Pilates and aquatic aerobic exercises show significant improvements in pain and function, with no significant differences between the two modalities. 4
  • Quality of Life and Psychological Benefits:
    • Pilates improves quality of life, psychological status, and reduces kinesiophobia (a debilitating fear of movement or physical activity) more effectively than walking or no intervention. 2, 3, 6
    • Both Pilates and aquatic aerobic exercises enhance quality of life, but specific improvements in sleep quality and pain catastrophising are more pronounced with aquatic exercises. 4
  • Comparative Effectiveness:
    • Pilates is more effective than walking in improving pain, disease-related quality of life, and psychological status. 2
    • Clinical Pilates and group exercises both show significant improvements in disease activity, functional status, anxiety, and biopsychosocial status, with group exercises providing additional social interaction benefits. 3

Conclusion

Pilates is beneficial for individuals with fibromyalgia, offering significant improvements in pain, functional status, quality of life, and psychological well-being. It is as effective as other exercise modalities like aquatic aerobic exercises and provides additional benefits over walking. Pilates can be considered a safe and effective non-pharmacological treatment option for managing fibromyalgia symptoms.
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References
​1. Altan, L., Korkmaz, N., Bingol, U., & Gunay, B. (2009). Effect of pilates training on people with fibromyalgia syndrome: a pilot study. Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation, 90 12, 1983-8 .https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apmr.2009.06.021.

Assessment: Positive (Green) (amber in AI)
Journal quality: 4 stars
Pilates is an effective and safe method for people with fibromyalgia syndrome, showing significant improvement in pain and quality of life at week 12.

2. Cazotti, L., Natour, J., Carvalho, F., Pereira, D., & Jones, A. (2023). Pilates is better than walking for patients with Fibromyalgia: a randomized controlled trial. Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases. https://doi.org/10.1136/annrheumdis-2023-eular.3961.

Assessment: Conclusion positive (Green)
Journal quality: 4 stars

Pilates is effective in treating women with fibromyalgia, improving pain, quality of life related to the disease, psychological status, and overall satisfaction with treatment compared to walking.

3. Cagla, C., Keskin, A., Kabul, E., Calık, B., Aslan, U., & Karasu, U. (2019). THE EFFECTS OF CLINICAL PILATES TRAINING IN PATIENTS WITH FIBROMYALGIA: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, 78, 1051 - 1051. https://doi.org/10.1136/annrheumdis-2019-eular.7326.

Assessment: Positive (Green)
Journal quality: This issue ranked in the top 50% of journals measured by SciScore
(The SciScore Rigor and Transparency Index scores thousands of journals on specific scientific rigor criteria, such as randomization, blinding, and statistical power.)
 
Clinical pilates training resulted in improvement on disease activity, functional status, anxiety, quality of life, and biopsychosocial status in individuals with fibromyalgia.

4. Medeiros, S., Silva, H., Nascimento, R., Maia, J., Lins, C., & Souza, M. (2020). Mat Pilates is as effective as aquatic aerobic exercise in treating women with fibromyalgia: a clinical, randomized and blind trial. Advances in Rheumatology, 60, 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1186/s42358-020-0124-2.

Assessment: Unknown (Amber)
Journal quality: unknown
 
Mat Pilates is as effective as aquatic aerobic exercise in treating women with fibromyalgia in terms of pain and function.

5. Franco, K., Miyamoto, G., Franco, Y., Salvador, E., Nascimento, B., Menten, L. & Cabral, C. (2022). Is Pilates more effective and cost-effectiveness than aerobic exercise in the treatment of patients with fibromyalgia syndrome? A randomized controlled trial with economic evaluation. European Journal of Pain, Volume27, Issue1, January 2023, pp 54-71, https://doi.org/10.1186/s41927-018-0051-6. 

Assessment: Not assessed

Pilates showed to be a safe and effective alternative for the treatment of patients with fibromyalgia syndrome. Pilates presented similar results for the impact of fibromyalgia and superior results for pain relief compared to aerobic exercises, a highly recommended intervention for the treatment of fibromyalgia syndrome. Pilates was not cost-effective compared to aerobic exercises for the impact of fibromyalgia. However, Pilates seemed to be a cost-effective intervention for quality-adjusted life-years, depending on the decision-maker's willingness-to-pay threshold.

6. Jesus, D., Pacheco, C., & Rezende, R. (2022). The use of Pilates for pain control in patients with fibromyalgia. Fisioterapia em Movimento. https://doi.org/10.1590/fm.2022.35204.

Assessment: Positive (green)
Journal ranking: unknown
 
Pilates positively affects pain control, physical function, quality of life, and biopsychosocial factors in individuals with fibromyalgia.

7. Keskin, A., Calık, B., Kabul, E., & Çobankara, V. (2020). Is connective tissue massage effective in individuals with Fibromyalgia? Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases. https://doi.org/10.1136/ANNRHEUMDIS-2020-EULAR.6316.

Assessment: Positive (green)
Journal quality: 4 stars

Clinical pilates exercises and connective tissue massage both reduce the number of painful areas and have positive effects on individuals with fibromyalgia.

8. Ekici, G., Unal, E., Akbayrak, T., Vardar-Yagli, N., Yakut, Y., & Karabulut, E. (2017). Effects of active/passive interventions on pain, anxiety, and quality of life in women with fibromyalgia: Randomized controlled pilot trial. Women & Health, 57, 107 - 88. https://doi.org/10.1080/03630242.2016.1153017.

Assessment: Possibly beneficial (amber)
Journal quality: 3 stars

Pilates exercises showed more advantages in improving pain-pressure threshold and reducing anxiety symptoms for women with fibromyalgia compared to connective tissue massage.
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