Fibromyalgia or fibromyalgia syndrome is characterized by recurrent muscular pain in all parts of the body. Other symptoms such as joint pain and back pain are often accompanied by secondary symptoms such as increased fatigue, insomnia and morning stiffness.
The present non-randomised, controlled comparative study, which was conducted in Berlin, investigates the efficacy of Ayurvedic and orthodox treatment approaches in the treatment of fibromyalgia.
Method
Of 31 inpatients with diagnosed fibromyalgia, 11 were treated exclusively with conventional methods and 21 were treated ayurvedically. The effectiveness of the treatments, both conventional and ayurvedic, were assessed using a fibromyalgia specific questionnaire (“FIQ”). In addition, parameters such as pain intensity, pain perception, depression, anxiety and sleep quality were evaluated.
Results
Both the patients treated ayurvedically and the patients treated conventionally showed significant positive changes. The effects were comparable in both groups without significant differences. This implies that ayurvedic treatment is equivalent and not inferior in its efficacy to conventional medicine. As the Ayurvedic treatments were used as an add-on in this study, further research is needed.
Title of the study: Additive Complex Ayurvedic Treatment in Patients with Fibromyalgia Syndrome Compared to Conventional Standard Care Alone: A Nonrandomized Controlled Clinical Pilot Study (KAFA Trial)Author of the study: Christian S. Kessler, Thomas Ostermann, Larissa Meier, Elmar Stapelfeldt, Silvia Schütte, Joachim Duda and Andreas MichaelsenLink to the study: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3773902
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