Can different degrees of resistance training improve mood states in patients with fibromyalgia? A randomized controlled trial 2022 Vilarino et al

The purpose of this study was to look at the effects of low and high intensity resistance training (RT) on the mood states of fibromyalgia patients (FM).

A total of 69 women participated in the study, with 31 healthy women serving as control group (HC), and 28 women diagnosed with FM being randomly assigned to one of two RT groups: low intensity or high intensity. Ten women diagnosed with FM formed a group of preferred intensity (PI). FM patients were subjected to 8 weeks of supervised RT with low, high, or PI doses. The exercise protocol was the same for both groups, with large muscle group exercises. Each intervention group performed a specific number of repetitions and rest periods based on the intensity. Training sessions took place twice a week. The HC received no type of intervention. The Brunel mood scale was used to assess mood states.

When the mood profiles of patients with FM and healthy women were compared, patients with FM showed a worse mood profile. Low and high intensity RT for eight weeks did not improve the mood profile of FM patients. Anger showed a significant difference between LIRT and HIRT groups in the follow-up period (p=0.01); similarly significant differences between HIRT and HC were seen at baseline and at the 4 week evaluation in vigor (p=0.01 and p=0.001) and fatigue (p=0.01 and p=0.03). FM patients have a worse mood profile than healthy women, and eight weeks of low and high intensity RT did not result in significant improvements.

Open access, https://www.reumatismo.org/index.php/reuma/article/view/1452

 

My "mood profile" worsens with the endless, largely bogus, studies that imply that fibro is a mental pathology. I was diagnosed 35 years ago, and it's disheartening that so many misconceptions about fibro persist.

@Andy, I still very much appreciate you posting these articles. I want to know what's going on in research even when it burns my biscuits.

 

"Improving mood states" is such a generic and pointlessly vague thing. This is not serious and the idea that it's a specific set of movements that should work is ludicrous.

This whole thing where they pretend that finding the right combination of words and the right combination of movements is looking exactly like magical rituals. Seriously how is this any different? They think there are magical words that should work and ritual movements and affirmations that patients can say and do to ward off illness.

"Oh no you didn't say the words right and now you raised an army of the dead. It's 'nikto', you illiterate philistine, you can't just harumph your way through the magical word that wards off the army of the dead/illness beliefs/whatever."

 

Well put @rvallee

 

So they assume patients with fibromyalgia are in a bad mood?

 

Here's the link to the Brunel mood test if anyone wants to bother. It's very quick and you can get your score on the spot.
https://www.moodprofiling.com/sportscale.php

The advice for fatigue includes splashing your face with water. I've never seen that one written down before.

 

These professional, academic true believers (in exercise as a panacea) might have asked as few more FM patients: what happens to you when you try resistance bands or do bicep curls with two pound weights?

Or even bend to the side. Never fails, no matter how many times I do it, to engender the small spasm later that day or the next couple.

I have never been able to overcome and diminish the after-effects of "strengthening exercises" to my upper body (especially neck, shoulders, upper arms). Those muscles are too affected, too abnormal all the time to be challenged.

Carrying a lightweight purse is problematic. A smart phone feels too heavy to carry.

That said, I can get away with some exercises to major muscles in my legs, usually.

Also, not having access to the whole article, I don't know what the strengthening exercises were, the type of equipment, if any, used.

I can assume that if any severely affected FM females did contract major muscles of the upper body, even without weights or bands, they would be pissed off at the exercise research that evening and the next day, and for the rest of the week. Surprised that there wasn't any drop outs.

Must have recruited very mild patients close to onset of illness (or maybe not they were not actually FM patients, ie not diagnosed properly).



Why assess mood? Mood is like the weather. And mood is certainly influenced by stuff that happens in life unrelated to the exercise room.

Is that important to PwFM or is it cultural or personal to the researchers?

I would think pain level per se is the most salient symptom.

But most of the researchers are in Brazil and they prize good mood (the most friendly people). I'm reaching here.