Effects of exercise on fatigue and physical capacity in men with chronic widespread pain - a pilot study.
BACKGROUND
There is very limited knowledge about the effects of exercise on men with Chronic Widespread Pain (CWP), especially regarding fatigue. We wanted to investigate the effects of resistance exercise compared with pool exercise on multidimensional fatigue, psychological distress and physical capacity in men with CWP.


METHODS
Thirty-four men with CWP, with a mean age of 49 (SD 8, range 26-59) years, were randomised to 12 weeks of standardised pool exercise (PE) or resistance exercise (RE). The primary outcome was the Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory (MFI-20). Depression, anxiety, isometric force, pain and health-related quality of life were also assessed.


RESULTS
No significant differences were found for changes in MFI-20 between the exercise groups. The RE group improved the isometric forces of right shoulder abduction (RE: ∆2.2 SD 1.5 N, PE: ∆0.6 SD 1.2 N, p = 0.009), right knee flexion (RE: ∆50, SD 50 N, PE: ∆-17, SD 71 N, p = 0.003) and left knee flexion (RE: ∆33 SD 39, PE: ∆-9 SD 52 N, p = 0.017) compared with the PE group. The drop-out rate was 29 % in the RE group and 18 % in the PE group.


CONCLUSIONS
Both a resistance exercise programme and a pool exercise programme improved different dimensions of fatigue in men with CWP. There were no differences in the change in fatigue over time between the exercise groups. Resistance exercise improved isometric strength compared with pool exercise. Because different types of exercise appear to improve different aspects of health, the goals could guide the choice of treatment. Further exercise studies with larger groups are needed to gain more knowledge about the effect of exercise on fatigue in men with CWP.


BACKGROUND
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier NCT01278641. Registration date April 2008.
Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Department of Health and Rehabilitation/Physiotherapy, The Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Anna
0000-0002-8778-6098
A
Ericsson
Institute of Medicine, Department of Rheumatology and Inflammation Research, The Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Tomas
T
Bremell
Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Department of Health and Rehabilitation/Physiotherapy, The Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Åsa
Å
Cider
Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Department of Health and Rehabilitation/Physiotherapy, The Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Kaisa
K
Mannerkorpi
Chronic pain; Exercise; Men; Resistance exercise