Tai chi helps with fibromyalgia

Fibromyalgia patients who participated in tai chi classes had less pain and improved quality of life, according to a new randomized trial.

Half of the 66 patients participating in the study were assigned to 12 weeks of twice-weekly Yang-style tai chi. The other patients received wellness education and stretching for the same time period. The end points of the study were changes in the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ) score and physical and mental components of the Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey.

Patients in the tai chi group showed significant improvements in their overall FIQ score, as well as in measures used to assess pain, sleep quality, depression and quality of life. The gains had been sustained at 24-week follow-up, leading the study authors to conclude that tai chi may be a useful treatment for fibromyalgia. The study was published in the Aug. 19 New England Journal of Medicine.

The results confirm previous nonrandomized trials that have found benefit in tai chi, the authors said. They noted a few limitations to the study: The classes were all conducted by one tai chi master, and the absence of a sham tai chi made double-blinding of the study impossible.

Since the mechanism by which tai chi works is unknown and likely complex, trying to construct a sham version would not be worthwhile, according to an accompanying editorial. The editorialist recommended that future research replicate the study with more patients and longer follow-up and compare it to other therapies such as yoga. In the meantime, physicians can reasonably support their fibromyalgia patients' interest in tai chi, although it may be premature to prescribe it, the editorial concluded.