Fibromyalgia and Avoidance behaviour may be a contributor to the maintenance and longevity of symptoms throughout the course of life and may increase the severity as the body becomes deconditioned.
Exposure therapy has been used and considered successful in the avoidance and hypervigilance of the Fibromyalgia patient, A recent study undertaken investigated
the mediators of treatment and outcome in using these therapies.
140 patients undertook the study and data was collected over a 10-week trial and produced results that illustrated changes in avoidance behaviour mediate the outcome of exposure on FM symptoms, which implies that avoidance behaviour is an important treatment target in exposure therapy. (ELSEVIER, 2019).
Fibromyalgia Patients typically have a severe exacerbation or the fear of severe exacerbations to physical activity which limits or decreases their physical activity and quality of life.
Studies produced by Turk et al. with 233 patients resulted in 39% of Fibromyalgia patients displayed high levels of fear-avoidance behaviours whilst In another study, fear of movement and avoidance behaviour toward physical activity was identified in 145 (40 %)
out of 359 FM patients.
Whilst the remaining contributors resulted in what is considered Persistent Behaviour, suppressing the pain and experiences related to physical activity and potentially resulting in over-activity.
The patients who typically persisted with physical activity experience less pain and fatigue, functional disability, negative mood, worrying about, hypervigilance, helplessness, and perform better on physical fitness tests (e.g. they walk
longer during a shuttle walking test) -Nijs, Jo & Roussel, Nathalie & Van Oosterwijck, Jessica & De Kooning, Margot & Ickmans, Kelly & Struyf, Filip & Meeus, Mira & Lundberg, Mari. (2013). Fear of movement and avoidance behaviour toward physical activity in chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia: State of the art and implications for clinical practice. Clinical rheumatology. 32. 10.1007/s10067-013-2277-4.
A Multi-faceted approach including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Exercise Training or programming, Activity pacing or the gradual increase of activity has been identified in improving physical and psychological functioning.
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