• Jeremy P Steen, Vivek Kannan, Abdullah Zaidi, Holger Cramer, and Jeremy Y Ng.
• Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
• Pain Med. 2024 Aug 2.

ObjectiveFibromyalgia is a chronic and disabling condition that presents management challenges for both patients and healthcare providers. The objective of this systematic review was to summarize current evidence on the effectiveness and safety of mind-body therapies in the treatment and/or management of fibromyalgia.MethodsWe searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, AMED, and CINAHL databases from their inception to December 2023. Eligible articles included adults diagnosed with fibromyalgia participating in a mind-body therapy intervention and were published from the beginning of 2012 onwards. We assessed the quality of the studies using the Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal Checklists.ResultsOf 3866 records screened, 27 studies (30 articles) met our inclusion criteria, in which 22 were randomized controlled trials and 5 were quasi-experimental studies. Mind-body therapies included guided imagery (n = 5), mindfulness-based stress reduction (n = 5), qi gong (n = 5), tai chi (n = 5), biofeedback (n = 3), yoga (n = 2), mindfulness awareness training (n = 1), and progressive muscle relaxation (n = 1). With the exception of mindfulness-based stress reduction, all therapies had at least one study showing significant improvements in pain at the end of treatment. Multiple studies on guided imagery, qi gong, and tai chi observed significant improvements in pain, fatigue, multidimensional function, and sleep. Approximately one-third of the studies reported on adverse events.ConclusionsThis review suggests that mind-body therapies are potentially beneficial for adults with fibromyalgia. Further research is necessary to determine if the positive effects observed post-intervention are sustained.Study RegistrationOpen Science Framework (https://osf.io) (September 12, 2023; https://doi.org/10.17605/osf.io/6w7ac).© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Academy of Pain Medicine.

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