Effect of aquatic physiotherapy on pain and quality of life in elderly women with fibromyalgia

Background:Fibromyalgia is defined as a chronic non-articular rheumatic disease, characterized by generalized, diffuse bilateral pain and the presence of tender points in specific anatomical regions. Its symptoms are characterized by a very varied picture and the etiology is considered multifactorial. Today, with difficult treatment, fibromyalgia has been a major challenge for healthcare professionals. Aquatic physiotherapy is currently one of the most commonly used forms of intervention in the management of fibromyalgia, and for this reason it has been used in interdisciplinary rehabilitation programs to promote health.Objectives:To evaluate the effects of aquatic physiotherapy on pain and quality of life in patients with fibromyalgia.Methods:This is an interventional, quasi-experimental study carried out at the Physiotherapy School Clinic of Universidade Cesumar in the city of Maringá, PR, Brazil. The study was approved by the Human Research Ethics Committee of Unicesumar under opinion No. 1,025,567. Participated in the study, elderly women aged 60 years, with clinical diagnosis of fibromyalgia. To assess the quality of life, the Medical Outcomes Study 36 - Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) instrument was used and to verify the intensity of the pain, the Visual Analogue Scale was used. The aquatic physiotherapy intervention protocol was to perform 10 Watsu sessions, performed twice a week, lasting 40 minutes each. To perform the Watsu method, the following steps of the technique were followed: before starting, opening, delivering the water, dancing the breath in the water, breathing balance and to finish releasing the spine. For data analysis, the Shapiro-Wilk test was initially applied to verify the normality of the variables under study. As the data presented a normal distribution, mean, standard deviation, minimum and maximum were used to characterize the results. To compare the initial and final variables, the dependent student t test was used. The significance adopted was p <0.05.Results:The study included 17 elderly women with a mean age of 67.5 ± 4.7 years. When comparing the evaluation and the reassessment, a statistically significant improvement was evidenced in the domains of quality of life: functional capacity (p=0.00445), limitation due to physical aspects (p=0.01347), pain (p=0.00861), vitality (p=0.00044), limitation due to emotional aspects (p=0.02019), mental health (p=0.00748). The domains that did not show statistical increase were the general health status (p=0.30663) and the social aspects (p=0.05037). The pain, on the other hand, was statistically less after the intervention (p=0.00059).Conclusion:Aquatic physical therapy provided benefits in reducing pain and improving the quality of life of elderly women with fibromyalgia. It is important to encourage individuals with fibromyalgia to perform non-pharmacological interventions, such as aquatic physiotherapy, to promote their health and quality of life.References:[1]Oliveira DV, Ferreira AAM, Oliveira DCD, Leme DEDC, Antunes MD, Nascimento Júnior JRAD. Association of the practice of physical activity and of health status on the quality of life of women with fibromyalgia. Journal of Physical Education. 2019;30(1): e3027. https://doi.org/10.4025/jphyseduc.v30i1.3027.[2]Antunes MD, Vertuan MP. Miquilin A, Leme DEC, Morales RC, Oliveira DV. Efeitos do Watsu na qualidade de vida e quadro doloroso de idosas com fibromialgia. ConScientiae Saúde. 2016;15(4), 636-641. https://doi.org/10.5585/conssaude.v15n4.6756.[3]Antunes M, Ferreira A, Oliveira D, Júnior JN, Bertolini S, Marques AP. There is association between the level of physical activity and quality of life of women with fibromyalgia?. Annals of rheumatic diseases. 2019;78(2)650-1. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/annrheumdis-2019-eular.2835.Acknowledgements:This study was financed in part by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - Brasil (CAPES) - Finance Code 001.Disclosure of Interests:None declared