Abstract
Because fibromyalgia (FM) patients frequently report activity-dependent deep tissue
pains, impulse input from painful body regions may be relevant for their musculoskeletal
complaints. In addition, peripheral impulse input may induce and maintain thermal
and mechanical hyperalgesia of FM patients. If so, activity and rest may alternately
enhance and diminish intensity of FM pain. However, the effects of exercise on pain
are ambiguous in studies of FM. Whereas exercise-only studies demonstrated increased
pain and hyperalgesia during and after physical activity, some exercise studies that
included rest periods resulted in decreased FM pain and increased function. To further
clarify these effects, we examined the effects of alternating exercise with rest on
clinical pain and thermal/mechanical hyperalgesia of 34 FM patients and 36 age-matched
healthy controls (NC). Using an ergometer, all subjects performed arm exercise to
exhaustion twice alternating with 15-minute rest periods. Although strenuous muscle
activity was reported as painful by most FM subjects, overall clinical pain consistently
decreased during the rest periods. Additionally, FM subjects' pain sensitivity to
mechanical pressure decreased after each exercise and rest session. Conclusion: Alternating
strenuous exercise with brief rest periods not only decreased overall clinical pain
of FM subjects but also their mechanical hyperalgesia. No prolonged worsening of overall
FM pain and hyperalgesia occurred despite vigorous muscle activity. Our findings contribute
further evidence that FM pain and hyperalgesia are at least partially maintained by
muscle impulse input, and that some types of exercises may be beneficial for FM.
Perspective
FM is a pain-amplification syndrome that depends at least in part on peripheral tissue
impulse input. Whereas muscle activity increased overall pain, short rest periods
produced analgesic effects.
Key words
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: May 10, 2010
Accepted:
March 16,
2010
Received in revised form:
March 3,
2010
Received:
February 5,
2010
Footnotes
Supported by NIH grants NS041670 and AR053541.
Identification
Copyright
© 2010 American Pain Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
