WEDNESDAY, Aug. 18 (HealthDay News) -- Fibromyalgia sufferers may find relief from the chronic pain condition by doing tai chi, new research finds.
Researchers divided 66 people with fibromyalgia into two groups: one group did hour-long sessions of tai chi twice a week for 12 weeks; the other had a twice-weekly wellness education class followed by gentle stretching.
At the end of 12 weeks, the tai chi group reported improvements in their scores on questionnaires regarding both physical and mental fibromyalgia symptoms. That included decreased pain and increased ability to do daily tasks without pain; less fatigue, depression and anxiety; and an overall better quality of life. Patients also reported better sleep quality and improved physical conditioning.
The improvements were still evident at 24 weeks, according to the research reported in the Aug. 19 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
"It was incredible," said lead study author Dr. Chenchen Wang, an associate professor of medicine in the rheumatology department at Tufts Medical Center in Boston. "You could see them change every week. They became very happy. I felt very, very excited to be with them."
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