Feldenkrais awareness though movement intervention for fibromyalgia syndrome: A proof-of-concept study

Introduction: The Feldenkrais Method® is a form of awareness through movement (ATM) aimed at improving spatial and kinesthetic awareness through verbally guided movements, in order to learn more effective actions.

Method: The present study, a proof-of-concept, observational, non-controlled prospective study, aims at exploring the effectiveness of ATM for fibromyalgia syndrome (FM), measuring the effect by means of multi-dimensional questionnaires, administered at baseline and after 4 months of ATM activity.

Results: One hundred twenty-eight FM patients (mean age 54 years old, 2% males) participated in the study. A statistically significant improvement was found in FM-specific measures (Polysymptomatic Distress Scale, PDS) (p = 0.003) and the Pain Catastrophization Scale (PCS) (p = 0.020); coherently, the Revised Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQR) showed a trend in improvement after the intervention, although this improvement was not statistically significant. The logistic regression analysis found a correlation between PDS, fatigue and anxiety measures; PCS, years from diagnosis and anxiety.

Conclusion: ATM could improve FM-specific measures and pain-related catastrophizing. Further studies are needed to identify FM subgroups in order to find personalized targets that can be used to guide treatments.