Efficacy of a novel home-based stretching program on fibromyalgia symptoms: a randomised controlled trial.

Abstract

Non-pharmacological treatments are recommended for fibromyalgia, but are often limited by poor adherence. This study assessed the clinical efficacy of a novel six-week home-based, low-intensity stretching intervention compared with usual care in patients with fibromyalgia, with the Revised Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ-R) total score as the primary outcome. Parallel, waitlist-controlled randomised trial SETTING: Participants were recruited from the general community PARTICIPANTS: 58 adults diagnosed with fibromyalgia. Participants were randomly assigned (1:1), stratified by sex, to six weeks of daily low-intensity home-based stretching exercises (6 min/day) or to usual care. The primary outcome was the change in the FIQ-R total score from baseline to follow-up, analysed under the intention-to-treat principle. Between Oct 24, 2024, and May 22, 2025, 89 patients were screened, and 58 were randomly assigned to either the intervention group (n=29) or the control group (n=29). The average self-reported adherence rate to the intervention was 83%. There was a significant group-by-time interaction for FIQ-R total score (F[1,56] = 11.30; p<0.001; partial η²=0.17), indicating greater improvement in the intervention group. From baseline to follow-up, mean FIQ-R total score decreased by 9.7 points (95% CI -15.0 to -4.4; p<0.001), corresponding to an 18.7% improvement in the intervention group, compared with a non-significant change of 0.8 points (-2.7 to 4.2; p=0.66) in the control group. Low-intensity, high-frequency home-based stretching produced significant, clinically meaningful improvements in the FIQR total score compared with usual care, suggesting its potential as a feasible, well-tolerated non-pharmacological treatment option. Future research should confirm these findings in longer-term, sex-balanced trials. NCT06487741. Registered June 24, 2024.