Fibromyalgia is a rheumatologic disease with a range of symptoms such as fatigue, sleep disorders, morning stiffness, headache, and paresthesias.

One of the main pathophysiological mechanisms of fibromyalgia is central sensitization, defined as increased responsiveness of nociceptive neurons in the central nervous system to their normal or subthreshold afferent input.

As a physical therapist, this type of condition can be very challenging as exercise and movements typically hurt. It takes time, patience and an effective exercise routine to help calm down the body and then build it back up.

Besides medication, exercise is the first choice of treatment. Aerobic exercise, such as walking, can be very beneficial to help with pain relief and build muscle.

However, we find that unless someone has a focused plan to help with walking, this activity compliance normally does not “stick” without any motivation or progression!

Pilates can help with pain

Besides individual physical therapy sessions for manual therapy, specific exercise and education, Pilates can be indicated to help with the pain from Fibromyalgia.

Group exercise can be cost-effective and can be time efficient way to help with pain and function. Pilates has also been shown to lead to greater adherence of continuing with an exercise program.

If you are looking for an exercise program to help improve pain associated with Fibromyalgia, PhysioFit of North Carolina has individual Physical Therapy sessions and we also offer group classes in Pilates and Yoga. The classes are intended to be more “gentler” than typical gym classes so you can start with a perfect graded exposure program to build from nothing to help you gain muscle mass and improve pain!