Comparison of the effect of connective tissue massage and foam roller in fibromyalgia patients.

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of foam roller (FR) and connective tissue massage (CTM) in pain, function, sleep quality, and quality of life in patients with Fibromyalgia Syndrome (FMS).

Methods: Forty female participants with FMS were randomly assigned to CTM group or Foam Roller (FR) group. Both interventions were applied twice in a week for 6 weeks. The Michigan Body Map (MBM), Visual Analog Scale (VAS), Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ) were used to evaluate pain localization, pain, quality of life, sleep quality and function, respectively.

Results: All measurements demonstrated significant post-treatment improvements in both groups (p < 0.001). Comparisons between groups showed that CTM led to more improvements in pain localization (p < 0.001) and function (p = 0.033). Between-group comparisons revealed that the CTM group achieved greater improvements in functional status (p < 0.001), fibromyalgia impact (p = 0.005), and pain localization (p < 0.001) compared with the FR group.

Conclusion: This study was concluded the improvement of all assesments both in CTM and FR groups. In addition, CTM demonstrated greater advantages in terms of functional independence and pain management, indicating that it might be a better treatment choice for fibromyalgia symptoms.