Effect of Aerobic Exercise on Fatigue and Quality of Life in Individuals With Fibromyalgia: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials.

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study was to investigate the literature for the effects of aerobic exercise on fatigue and quality of life in individuals with fibromyalgia.

METHODS

The Medline/PubMed, Embase and Web of Science databases were searched for relevant articles up to February 2023. We included studies involving individuals with fibromyalgia submitted to aerobic exercise compared to a control group. The Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool was used to appraise the risk of bias, and the level of evidence was analyzed using the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation approach.

RESULTS

Five articles met the inclusion criteria. The blinding of participants and personnel was insufficient in all studies. Four studies reported an adequate randomization method and 3 supplied sufficient information to assess whether allocation concealment was properly ensured. The risk of detection bias was low in 4 studies, as incomplete outcome data were sufficiently addressed. The risk of reporting bias was low in 3 studies and unclear in 2 studies. Fatigue was assessed in 3 studies; the level of evidence was very low and without effect for this outcome. All studies assessed quality of life, for which level of evidence was low and without effect.

CONCLUSION

The level of evidence was very low and without effect for fatigue, and low and without effect for quality of life. The AE programs did not promote any improvement in fatigue or quality of life in individuals with FM compared to the control group among studies analyzed in this review. Thus, future studies should be developed to clarify the efficacy of such treatment on these outcomes. Furthermore, there is a lack of studies with AE programs using the revised version of the FIQ (FIQR). Performance fatigue also needs to be used assessed more precisely.