By Jennifer Warner
WebMD Medical News
Jan. 26, 2005 — People with
fibromyalgia and other chronic pain conditions may be more
active than they think they are, according to a new study."When you ask people with fibromyalgia about their level of
function in terms of activity levels, they’ll report a lower function
than almost any other group," says researcher Dan Clauw, MD. "The
surprising thing that we found was that their average level of activity
was about the same as someone who didn’t have fibromyalgia."
. . .In the study, researchers followed 38 people with fibromyalgia, chronic
fatigue syndrome, or both, and a comparison group of 27 healthy adults
without those conditions. Each participant wore an actigraph, a small
watch-sized device that measures movement in various directions rather
than just one direction like a pedometer, to measure physical activity
levels.
. . ."
. . . the study showed that pain and fatigue preceded lower exercise
levels rather than followed increased physical activity. Researchers
say this finding may help doctors encourage their patients to remain
active without increasing painful symptoms."We’ve probably been thinking about fibromyalgia incorrectly," Clauw
says. "This group was impaired, but they weren’t impaired in the way
they thought they would be."
Worth reading all of it (it’s short) — and
interesting implications. I fear the major one is that people aren’t
getting nearly the exercise they should. I also wonder about the
activity history of the subjects. I used to swim 20 laps a day;
compared to that, I barely move now — and that influences, no doubt,
how I measure my current activity level.
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