Yoga for Fibromyalgia

October 14, 2014 updated by: James W Carson, PhD, Oregon Health and Science University

Yoga of Awareness Program for Fibromyalgia: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Fibromyalgia is a common, costly and debilitating illness which affects mostly women. Fibromyalgia patients report widespread musculoskeletal pain, fatigue, stiffness, and distress. Several consensus statements indicate that optimal care combines medication, exercise, and psychology. Yoga is a popular mind/body discipline which holds promise for reducing fibromyalgia symptoms. The aim of this pilot study is to evaluate the effects of an innovative program, Yoga of Awareness, in which yoga poses are complemented by meditation and breathing exercises, presentations on healthy coping, and group discussions. Fifty-six women with fibromyalgia will be recruited and randomly divided into two groups. One group will receive the yoga program right away, and the other group will wait 3 months before receiving the program. Information about fibromyalgia symptoms and functioning will be collected from both groups before and immediately after the first group receives the yoga program. When results from the 2 groups are compared, the investigators expect patients who received the yoga program will have greater gains in fibromyalgia symptoms, physical function and pain coping capacities then those waiting to receive the program. If this study shows the yoga program is effective, the investigators will use this data in 2010 to apply to the National Institutes of Health for a more complete study of its benefits.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

68

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Oregon
      • Portland, Oregon, United States, 97239
        • Oregon Health & Science University

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

17 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

Female

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • women ≥21 years of age
  • diagnosed with fibromyalgia by ACR criteria for at least 1 year
  • on a stable regimen of pharmacologic and/or non-pharmacologic treatment for FM ≥3 months

Exclusion Criteria:

  • reside >70 miles from the research site
  • unavailable to attend the intervention at one of the scheduled times
  • currently engaged in intensive yoga practice (practice >3 days/wk)
  • score >29 on the Beck depression scale modified for fibromyalgia
  • currently undergoing disability application or involved in litigation
  • elective surgery scheduled during the study period
  • physically disabled in a manner that precludes meaningful participation in the intervention (eg, quadriplegic paralysis)
  • do not speak English

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: yoga condition
assigned to start the yoga program right away
Behavioral: Yoga of Awareness Program
The 8 week yoga program will meet in groups of about 8-10 persons. Each 2-hour session will include gentle stretching, strengthening, and balance poses; meditation exercises; breathing techniques; study of pertinent topics (eg, mind/body stress reactivity), and group discussions (eg, experiences while practicing yoga). Participants will be asked to practice yoga methods at home, guided by a DVD (or audio recordings). The program will be taught by a certified yoga teacher (RYT) who has extensive experience in teaching yoga to medical patients.
No Intervention: wait-list control condition
This condition will control for any effects of symptom measurement reactivity in patients receiving routine fibromyalgia medical care. After the 3-month assessment, the yoga intervention program will be provided to these patients.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire Revised (FIQR)
Time Frame: baseline, 3 months, 6 months
baseline, 3 months, 6 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Vanderbilt Multidimensional Pain Coping Inventory (VMPCI)
Time Frame: baseline, 3 months, 6 months
baseline, 3 months, 6 months
Chronic Pain Acceptance Questionnaire (CPAQ)
Time Frame: baseline, 3 months, 6 months
baseline, 3 months, 6 months
Coping Strategies Questionnaire Catastrophizing Subscale (CSQCAT)
Time Frame: baseline, 3 months, 6 months
baseline, 3 months, 6 months

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Oregon Health and Science University

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: James W Carson, PhD, Oregon Health and Science University

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

October 1, 2009

Primary Completion (Actual)

December 1, 2010

Study Completion (Actual)

December 1, 2010

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

August 26, 2009

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 26, 2009

First Posted (Estimate)

August 27, 2009

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

October 16, 2014

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

October 14, 2014

Last Verified

October 1, 2014

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • Yoga for Fibromyalgia

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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