Effects of thermal therapy combining sauna therapy and underwater exercise in patients with fibromyalgia

摘要: Fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) is a chronic disorder that characterized by widespread pain with localized tenderness. We aimed to investigate whether thermal therapy combining sauna and underwater exercise improved pain, symptoms, quality of life (QOL) in FMS patients. Forty-four female patients who fulfilled the American College Rheumatology (ACR) criteria received 12-week program comprising once daily for 3 days/week 2 days/week. Pain, QOL were assessed using visual analog scale (VAS), fibromyalgia impact questionnaire (FIQ), short form 36-item (SF-36), respectively. All reported significant reductions symptoms 31-77% after program, which remained relatively stable (28-68%) during 6-month follow-up period (that is, both short-term long-term VAS FIQ scores). Improvements also observed SF-36 score. Thermal as well