Physical Activity as a complementary alternative therapy for fibromyalgia

Physical activity is usually associated with several benefits for the individual’s health, specifically in disease prevention. In the case of fibromyalgia, exercise emerged as one of the most indicated options to reduce signs and symptoms and seems to be useful in the management of this syndrome of unknown etiology. Knowing the importance of physical activity, it seems necessary to understand in-depth the quantity (e.g., volume, frequency), intensity (e.g., % of maximal load), and type of exercise (e.g., cardiorespiratory, resistance) that should be performed by an individual diagnosed with fibromyalgia. Therefore, this chapter aimed to critically analyze the literature on training programs that caused positive effects on the main symptoms of fibromyalgia and to suggest some practical applications regarding exercise program designs (i.e., type, volume, and intensity). A search was performed through Web of Science, Scopus, and Medline, and randomized clinical trials composed of individuals diagnosed with fibromyalgia who were over 18 years of age. Cardiorespiratory training, resistance training, and combined programs appear to be effective in reducing the symptoms associated with fibromyalgia. Aquatic exercises stand out in particular as they provide benefits generated by water along with the benefits of physical exercise. The frequency of two to three sessions per week with a progressive increase in intensity during the weeks of a training protocol seems to be effective, especially in medium to long term interventions.