People With Fibromyalgia Prone to Falls
People With Fibromyalgia Prone to Falls
May 7, 2010 (Baltimore) -- People with fibromyalgia may be prone to falls due to balance problems, a small study suggests.
The findings suggest that people with fibromyalgia can benefit from exercises to improve balance, says Kim Dupree Jones, PhD, of Oregon Health & Science University in Portland.
"Balance is what we can try to manipulate to reduce falls, just like we try to manipulate cholesterol levels to reduce heart disease," she tells WebMD.
Jones and colleagues studied 25 middle-aged people, average age 50, with fibromyalgia and 28 healthy people in the same age group.
Over a six-month period, those with fibromyalgia fell an average of 3.48 times vs. an average of 0.15 falls in the healthy group.
The National Fibromyalgia Association estimates that about 10 million Americans -- mostly women -- have fibromyalgia, an unexplained condition characterized by chronic pain and fatigue.
The new study was presented at the annual meeting of the American Pain Society.
Could Your Symptoms Be Fibromyalgia?
The findings suggest that people with fibromyalgia can benefit from exercises to improve balance, says Kim Dupree Jones, PhD, of Oregon Health & Science University in Portland.
"Balance is what we can try to manipulate to reduce falls, just like we try to manipulate cholesterol levels to reduce heart disease," she tells WebMD.
Jones and colleagues studied 25 middle-aged people, average age 50, with fibromyalgia and 28 healthy people in the same age group.
Over a six-month period, those with fibromyalgia fell an average of 3.48 times vs. an average of 0.15 falls in the healthy group.
The National Fibromyalgia Association estimates that about 10 million Americans -- mostly women -- have fibromyalgia, an unexplained condition characterized by chronic pain and fatigue.
The new study was presented at the annual meeting of the American Pain Society.
Could Your Symptoms Be Fibromyalgia?
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