The effectiveness of cognitive behavioural therapy in reducing fibromyalgia symptoms

Abstract

Topic Overview: Fibromyalgia (FM) is a recently discovered illness which has no official treatment regimen. Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) has previously been used to treat chronic pain and anxiety. Based on this, investigations have been undertaken to see whether this correlation may indicate CBT as an effective treatment for FM. The Research Question was formulated using the PICO framework, “Amongst people with fibromyalgia (P), how does cognitive behavioural therapy (I) compare to regular medical intervention (C) in the alleviation of symptoms (O)?” Research Methods: A systematic inquiry was generated to find literature pertaining to the research question. Databases employed were HyDI, Scopus, PubMed, Google Scholar, EBSCO, and ProQuest. Various keywords were applied to generate appropriate literature. Studies selected included patients of all ages and genders diagnosed with FM and examined CBT as an individual therapy or added onto treatment as usual. Literature was excluded if studies focused on combining CBT with other interventions and participants had comorbidities besides FM. Outcome: The search generated 5 key studies, 2 Systematic Reviews (SR) with Meta-Analysis and 3 Randomised Controlled Trials (RCTs), that were appraised using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme. Results & Conclusion: Key studies suggested further investigations due to limited participation. One SR suggested CBT be used as an adjunct treatment based on the statistical significance relating to pain and depression. The other SR resulted in inconclusive findings. The RCTs unveiled CBT to be an effective therapy due to the statistical significance noted in the alleviation of pain and depression, and slightly less significance in symptoms of anxiety and fatigue. Implications and Recommendations: Further investigations were recommended due to limited populations examined. However, most key studies recommended CBT as an adjunct treatment for the alleviation of symptoms relating to FM.