Effects of Stanger bath therapy on fibromyalgia

The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of Stanger bath on the treatment of fibromyalgia (FM). Fifty women with FM were randomly divided into two groups. The first group (n=25) was treated with amitriptyline, 10 mg/day for 8 weeks, and Stanger bath, 20 min daily for ten sessions. The second group (n=25) only had amitriptyline, 10 mg/day for 8 weeks. In the first group the assessment parameters were measured before (t1), at the end (t2), and 2 months after the hydrotherapy (t3). In the second group these parameters were examined before (T1) and 2 months after the treatment (T2). Patients were evaluated by number of tender points and Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ) scores. There was significant improvement in number of tender points between t1 and t2 (P < 0.01) and t1 and t3 (P < 0.001) in the Stanger bath group. In addition, there was significant improvement in FIQ scores between t1 and t2 (P < 0.001) and t1 and t3 (P < 0.01) in the Stanger bath group. In the second group we observed significant improvement in FIQ scores and tender point numbers between T1 and T2 (P=0.00). We did not find any difference between groups in tender point number percent change (p=0.074). However, we observed statistically significant improvement in percent change of FIQ scores in Stanger bath group (-30 +/- 16.7) when compared to group 2 (-19.3 +/- 13) (p=0.016). We conclude that Stanger bath therapy when combined with amitriptyline has a long lasting effect and better outcome in FM patients.