Does Fibromyalgia Resolve With Functional Restoration Treatment In Chronic Disabling Occupational Musculoskeletal Disorders? Prevalence And Treatment Responsiveness
Abstract
Fibromyalgia (FM), a musculoskeletal syndrome involving widespread pain and tenderness to palpation, is considered stable and chronic, with few researchers evaluating diagnosis loss at post-treatment. FM patients (N = 117) entered functional restoration (FR) treatment, and 41% lost ACR 1990 diagnostic criteria for FM at post-treatment. Patients that lost the diagnosis (LFM group; n = 48) differed from patients who retained the diagnosis (RFM group; n = 69) on psychosocial measures of depressive symptoms, pain intensity, health-related quality of life, and disability at post-treatment, but were similar to the lumbar only comparison group (n = 87). LFM patients physically functioned better than RFM patients and changed more pre to post-treatment on self-reported disability measures, though lumbar only patients typically had better physical functioning. Both FM groups had significantly lower work retention rates than the lumbar only group one year post-treatment. Overall, FR is highly efficacious in treating FM.