Mar 6

Manual lymph drainage therapy and connective tissue massage in women with Fibromyalgia Syndrome

Photo of a woman having a massageA recently published study has suggested that massage may be helpful for women with primary Fibromyalgia Syndrome and that manual lymph drainage therapy may be more effective than connective tissue massage.

The randomised controlled trial aimed to analyse and compare the effects of manual lymph drainage therapy (MLDT) and connective tissue massage (CTM) in women with primary Fibromyalgia Syndrome (Fibro).

For the study, 50 women with Fibro were divided randomly into 2 groups: 25 of them receiving MLDT, and the other 25 undergoing CTM.

The treatment program was carried out 5 times a week for 3 weeks in each group.

The participants pain was evaluated by a visual analogue scale and algometry (a pain pressure test). The Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ) and Nottingham Health Profile were used to describe health status and health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Wilcoxon signed rank test and Mann-Whitney U test were used to analyse the data.

In both groups, significant improvements were found regarding pain intensity, pain pressure threshold, and HRQoL.

However, the scores of the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire using 7 questions (FIQ-7), the FIQ using 9 questions (FIQ-9), and the total FIQ (FIQ-total) were significantly lower in the MLDT group than they were in the CTM group at the end of treatment.

The article concludes that:

"For this particular group of patients, both MLDT and CTM appear to yield improvements in terms of pain, health status, and HRQoL. The results indicate that these manual therapy techniques might be used in the treatment of [Primary Fibromyalgia Syndrome]. However, MLDT was found to be more effective than CTM according to some sub-items of FIQ (morning tiredness and anxiety) and FIQ total score. Manual lymph drainage therapy might be preferred; however, further long-term follow-up studies are needed."

References:

  1. Ekici G, Bakar Y, Akbayrak T, Yuksel I. Comparison of manual lymph drainage therapy and connective tissue massage in women with fibromyalgia: a randomized controlled trial. J Manipulative Physiol Ther. 2009 Feb;32(2):127-33.