Rheumatology international
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
The effect of oral and parenteral vitamin D supplementation in the elderly: a prospective, double-blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled study.
Hypovitaminosis D in the elderly causes falls and fractures as a result of impaired neuromuscular functions and also may be a reason for nonspecific musculosceletal pain. The aim of this study is to investigate the benefits of a single dose per os or parenterally administrated vitamin D on increasing the quality of life and functional mobility and decreasing the pain in the elderly. The community-dwelling elderly subjects over 65 years age were included in the study. ⋯ When the pain, the functional mobility, and the quality of life were evaluated, in the first group, the TUG (P = 0.0001) and the VAS (P = 0.0001) decreased significantly, whereas the SF-36 subtitles: physical functioning (P = 0.0001), role physical (0.006), bodily pain (P = 0.0001), general health (P = 0.007), social functioning (P = 0.05), and mental health (P = 0.048) increased significantly. In group two, the VAS (P = 0.001) decreased, the role physical (P = 0.009), and role emotional (P = 0.034) increased significantly; In group three, the TUG (P = 0.0001) and the VAS (P = 0.002) decreased, whereas the physical function (P = 0.0001) and role physical (0.001) increased significantly; In group four, the VAS (P = 0.007) decreased significantly. The megadose vitamin D administration increases quality of life, decreases pain, and improves functional mobility via po or im route in the elderly.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
Effectiveness of physical activity in reducing pain in patients with fibromyalgia: a blinded randomized clinical trial.
The purpose of this study was to evaluate and compare the effectiveness of muscle-strengthening exercises (MS) and a walking program (WA) in reducing pain in patients with fibromyalgia. Ninety women, 30-55 years of age, diagnosed with fibromyalgia according to the American College of Rheumatology 1990 criteria, were randomized into 3 groups: WA Group, MS Group, and control group. Pain (visual analog scale) was evaluated as the primary outcome. ⋯ Mean FIQ total scores were lower for the WA and MS groups (P = 0.96) compared with the control group (P < 0.01). Patients in the WA and MS groups reported higher scores (better health status) than controls in almost all SF-36 subscales. MS was as effective as WA in reducing pain regarding all study variables; however, symptoms management during the follow-up period was more efficient in the WA group.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Efficacy of a multidisciplinary treatment program in patients with severe fibromyalgia.
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of a multidisciplinary treatment program in patients severely affected by fibromyalgia. Thirty-four fibromyalgia patients were randomly divided into two groups. The control group: 17 women who continued their medical treatment and participated in four educational sessions and the experimental group that included 17 patients who besides the former medical treatment also underwent a weekly 1-h session program for 8 weeks including massage therapy, ischemic pressure on the 18 tender points, aerobic exercise and thermal therapy. ⋯ At that time, considering the threshold for clinical efficacy set at an improvement of 30% or above for the analyzed variables, 25% of the patients met the requirement for improvement of the following: number of symptoms: Visual Analogic Scale for fatigue, Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire and Beck Anxiety Inventory. In conclusion, patients with severe manifestations of fibromyalgia can obtain improvement with a short-term, low-cost and simple-delivery multidisciplinary program. However, additional studies including higher numbers of patients are needed to confirm the beneficial effect of this treatment program.