Vall d'Hebron hospital devises 'effective treatment plan' for fibromyalgia with 'significant improvements' for patients

A LEADING Spanish hospital says it has come up with an 'effective treatment plan' for sufferers of fibromyalgia, an often-debilitating 'invisible illness' of which awareness has been increasing in the past 10 years.

Fibromyalgia – often lumped together with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, since they both share an unclear origin or cause, are incurable, invisible and as yet, not fully treatable – is where a person experiences chronic pain in one or several parts of the body, typically muscles and joints, which has no apparent source such as exercise or 'overdoing it', has little response to anti-inflammatory or other painkillers or, where it does, usually comes back when these wear off, and tends to be made worse through effort.

Sometimes, it is constant, and other times, it comes as an 'outbreak' with a remission – high-profile sufferers of fibromyalgia include US singer and songwriter, Lady GaGa.

A report in the Journal of Clinical Medicine details how the rheumatology team at Barcelona's Vall d'Hebron hospital have been handling the condition, and claims results show their approach has been 'significantly more effective' than the 'usual' form of treatment, which tends to be painkillers and 'graded exercise programmes'.

The 'Fibrowalk' study focused on a multi-disciplinary plan involving neuro-science education relating to pain, exercise, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) – a form of counselling which seeks to 'reframe' negative thoughts – and 'mindfulness', a controlled and taught type of relaxation and meditation where the patient is trained to place him- or herself in the exact present moment and concentrate on it, freeing the mind of concerns for the future or of baggage from the past.

If it works, and is rolled out to other hospitals nationwide and worldwide, it could have a powerful effect on the macro-economy and also on mental health, given that fibromyalgia is responsible for many lost working days and yet is misunderstood, sometimes callously referred to as 'yuppie 'flu', and sufferers made to feel lazy and unreliable when they need time off from their jobs or an adjustment to working hours and conditions.

It currently affects around 2% of the population, the majority of whom are women, and strikes by degrees, ranging from pains that are unpleasant and affect concentration through to extremely disabling and constant agony that prevents even the simplest of daily tasks.

Neuro-science pain education helps the patient to understand what is actually happening to cause the extreme discomfort, and teaches ways of managing the pain, as do the various psychological therapies, the Vall d'Hebron team explains.

Exercise therapy is carefully controlled, since movement can help improve stiffness and cramp, but in excess can worsen the situation – much criticism has been made in the past of 'graded exercise programmes', since they have been known to cause more pain in the longer term than prevent it.

Different types of painkillers are explored at the same time as the non-pharmaceutical treatment, and the rheumatology department says it has noticed a greater improvement in patients' overall comfort and ability to function.

As for Lady GaGa, who famously had to pull out of a live tour when she was hospitalised during a fibromyalgia outbreak, the star went public about her condition to raise awareness and show her support for others in the same situation.

She told fans on social media that 'heat pads are better than cold compresses' for easing the pain.