Fibromyalgia is a strange syndrome. It comes seemingly out of nowhere and has no specific cause. While there are few things known about its cause or causes there is quite a bit know about its symptoms.
It causes widespread muscular pain and chronic fatigue. It also can lead to depression and the symptoms often lead to individuals who have it experiencing other health problems and conditions such as obesity.
In order to understand this syndrome better researchers at the University of Indiana did a study. It has been discovered that exercise can help with the symptoms of fibromyalgia but few people actually maintain a long-term exercise plan.
It was discovered that making use of motivational interviews could help to keep people on track.
The study involved 216 patients. They were assessed before and after treatment. They were then assessed again at three and six months after treatment. Some of these patients did not receive the motivational interviews the other did. They found that those patients that received the motivational interviews had significant improvements. 49.5% of patients who did not have the motivational interviews showed improvement. 62.9%, who received the interviews showed improvement.
Those that went through the motivational interviews also saw an increase in their six-minute walk test and increased the number of hours of activity. There was significant improvement in the severity of the pain right after both the motivational interviews and when those same people were interviewed at three months.
It has been shown that exercise really helps. It can be hard to stick to an exercise plan. Motivational interviews help in two ways. The first is that it helps keep people accountable. If you know that you will be tested and progress assessed you are more likely to maintain your exercise program then if there is no one you have to report to, the second is that it helps to have someone to encourage you when things get difficult.
These results show that having a support system can go a long way to making it possible to improve your condition when you deal with fibromyalgia.