The effects of supervised and home-based breathing exercises on functional outcomes in patients with fibromyalgia syndrome

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of supervised and home-based breathing exercises applied as an adjunct to physiotherapy and rehabilitation on pain severity, functional capacity, physical performance, and sleep quality in patients with FMS. This was a randomized, prospective, comparative clinical study. Forty patients with a diagnosis of FMS were divided randomly into two groups. Twenty one subjects in first group received supervised breathing exercises and also physiotherapy and rehabilitation for a total of three weeks, five sessions per week, while nineteen subjects in second group received home-based breathing exercises and also physiotherapy and rehabilitation. Outcomes were Visual Analog Scale (VAS) for pain, Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ) for functional capacity, 6-minute walk test (6-MWT) for physical performance, and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) for sleep quality. It was found that there were significant improvements in FIQ and PSQI scores for post-treatment compared to pre-treatment in both groups (p 0,05). Our results showed that both supervised and home-based breathing exercise programs have beneficial effects on FIQ, PSQI and have no effects on 6-MWT. In pain management, only supervised breathing exercise seems to have positive effects.