While studies on mind-body treatments aren’t as prevalent as drug studies, researchers have begun to identify what actually works for fibromyalgia.
What are Mind-Body Treatments?
Mind-body treatments have gained more respect from the medical community in the past couple of decades, based largely on discoveries on how stress impacts your health as well as an increased understanding of the placebo effect of pain.
According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH):
Mind-body treatments that have shown some promise in research for fibromyalgia include:
The interactions among the brain, the rest of the body, the mind, and behaviorThe ways in which emotional, mental, social, spiritual, experiential, and behavioral factors can directly affect health.
MindfulnessTai Chi and yogaHypnotherapy and guided imageryCognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)
Mindfulness
Mindfulness is, essentially, being aware or conscious of something. In the context of health and wellness, though, the definition is more accurately:
Mindfulness has been found to help with numerous physiological illnesses and has been researched a little for fibromyalgia. A 2019 review of the available literature concluded that mindfulness-based interventions are “promising but uncertain” for people with fibromyalgia.
That promising research includes a 2017 study published in the British Journal of Health Psychology. Researchers said that mindfulness meditation led to significant and lasting improvements in participants with fibromyalgia, including:
Symptomology Pain perception Sleep quality Psychological distress
A benefit of mindfulness is that even if it doesn’t work, it’s not going to harm you in any way.
Tai Chi and Yoga
Tai Chi and yoga are both movement therapies that involve mindfulness, and they’ve both been show to benefit people with fibromyalgia.
A 2019 review of studies on Tai Chi for fibromyalgia concluded that Tai Chi was significantly more effective than standard care and recommended it as an alternative treatment. Researchers also stated that more large, high-quality trials were necessary to compare Tai Chi to other forms of exercise.
Looking at yoga for fibromyalgia, a 2016 pilot study found significant improvements when it came to:
Heat-pain toleranceHeat-pain after-sensations (lingering effects)Pressure pain thresholdFunctional deficits, including balance and strengthOverall fibromyalgia symptomsPain coping
Another 2019 review noted positive results in movement and body-awareness therapies, which includes both Tai Chi and yoga, in people with fibromyalgia.
Hypnotherapy and Guided Imagery
You’re probably somewhat familiar with the concept of hypnotherapy. It’s frequently used to help people do things like quit smoking and lose weight. A hypnotherapist puts you in an extremely relaxed state and then uses the power of suggestion to trigger changes in your brain that are believed to improve both physical and mental health.
According to the highly respected medical website UpToDate:
Guided imagery is a technique that’s used with hypotherapy. It involves words and/or music to evoke positive scenarios in your mind and bring about a beneficial effect.
A 2017 review states that its analysis endorses the effectiveness and tolerability of guided imagery during hypnosis for reducing the key symptoms of fibromyalgia. It also recommends combining hypnosis with cognitive behavioral therapy.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a type of short-term psychotherapy that is typically used to change the way you think of and behave toward something, such as sleep.
According to UpToDate:
For example, years of insomnia can create negative mental images of what it means to go to bed (i.e., frustration, anxiety rising pain levels), and that may cause you to stay up late and become stressed about even attempting to sleep. In CBT, a therapist would try to help you change your thoughts and attitudes about going to bed and also change your behavior by helping you establish and follow a better nighttime routine.
According to a study published in a 2017 edition of The Clinical Journal of Pain, CBT can normalize pain-related brain activity in fibromyalgia and lead to a reduction in pain.
