Relationship between aerobic fitness and quality of life in female fibromyalgia patients

Abstract

Objective: To determine whether there is a direct link between quality of life and aerobic capacity among female fibromyalgia patients.

Design: Cross-section study.

Setting: University of León.

Subjects: Twenty-nine women belonging to the León Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Association.

Main measurements: Aerobic capacity and quality of life were measured by means of the Six-Minute Walk Test and the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire. Outcome measures included heart rate and rate of perceived fatigue and dypsnoea.

Results: The average distance walked was 432.8 (61.2) m and the total average Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire score was 47.5 (18.9). Only item 1 of the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire, physical function, showed any statistically significant link with the distance walked, which had no statistically significant relationship with any of the variables studied.

Conclusion: The physical fitness of women with fibromyalgia, as determined by the Six-Minute Walk Test and the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire, has no direct relation with quality of life as the patients perceive it.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Wolfe F. , Smythe H. , Yunnus M. et al. The American College of Rheumatology 1990 Criteria for the classification of fibromyalgia. Report of the Multicenter Criteria Committee . Arthritis Rheum 1990; 33: 160—72 .

Last JM , ed. A dictionary of epidemiology . Oxford University Press , 1995.

White KP , Speechley M. , Hart M. , Ostbye T. Comparing self-reported function and work disability in 100 community cases of fibromyalgia syndrome versus controls in London, Ontario . Athritis Rheum 1999; 42: 76—83 .

Hammond A. , Freeman K. Community patient education and exercise for people with fibromyalgia: a parallel group randomized controlled trial . Clin Rehabil 2006; 20: 835—46 .

Le Goff P.

Is fibromyalgia a muscle disorder?

Joint Bone Spine 2006; 73: 239—42 .

Mannerkorpi K. , Burckhardt C. , Bjelle A. Physical performance characteristics of women with fibromyalgia . Arthritis Care Res 1994 ; 7: 123—29 .

Mannerkorpi K. , Birgitta N. , Ahlmén M. , Ekdahl C. Pool exercise combined with an education program for patients with fibromyalgia syndrome. A prospective, randomized study . J Rheumatol 2000; 27: 2473—78 .

Noble B. , Robertson J. Perception of physical exertion: methods, mediators, and applications . Exerc Sport Sci Rev 1997; 25: 407—52 .

Redondo J. , Justo C. , Moraleda F. et al. Long-term efficy of therapy in patients with fibromyalgia: a physical exercise-based program and a cognitive behavioural approach . Arthritis Care Res 2004; 51: 184—92 .

10.

King S. , Wessel J. , Bhambhani Y. , Maikala R. , Sholter D. , Maksymowych W. Validity and reliability of the 6 minute walk in persons with fibromyalgia . J Rheumatol 1999; 26: 2233—37 .

11.

Mannerkorpi M. , Svantesson U. , Carlsson J. , Ekdahl C. Test of functional limitations in fibromyalgia syndrome: a reliability study . Arthritis Rheum 1999; 12: 193—99 .

12.

Burckhardt C. , Mannerkorpi K. , Hedenberg L. , Bjelle A. A randomized, controlled clinical trial of education and physical training for women with fibromyalgia . J Rheumatol 1994; 21: 714—20 .

13.

Mannerkorpi K. , Savantesson U. , Broberg C. Relationship between performance-based test and patient's ratings of activity limitations, self-efficacy and pain in fibromyalgia . Arch Phys Med Rehabil 2006; 87: 259—64 .

14.

Pankoff BA , Overend TJ , Lucy SD , White KP Reliability of the six-minute walking test in people with fibromyalgia . Arthritis Rheum 2000; 13: 291—95 .

15.

Gowans SE , deHueck A. , Voss S. Six-minute walk test: A potential outcome measure for hydrotherapy . Arthritis Rheum 1999; 12: 208—11 .

16.

Bennett R. The Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ): a review of its development, current version, operating characteristics and uses . Clin Exp Rheumatol 2005; 23(suppl 39): S154—62 .

17.

Busch A. , Schachter C. , Peloso M. , Bombardier C. Exercise for treating fibromyalgia syndrome . Cochrane Data Base System Rev 2002; (3): CD003786 .

18.

Pardaens K. , Haagdorens L. , Van Wambeke P. , Van den Broeck A. , Van Houdenhove B. How relevant are exercise aerobic capacity measures for evaluating treatment effects in chronic fatigue syndrome? Results from a prospective, multidisciplinary outcome study . Clin Rehabil 2006; 20: 56—66 .