Turkish Journal of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation 2009 , Vol 55 , Num 2

Effect of Physical Therapy Program on Insomnia Severity in a Patient Population with Fibromyalgia Syndrome

Duygu Geler Külcü 1 ,Gülçin Gülşen Demirel 2
1 Haydarpaşa Numune Eğitim ve Araştırma Hastanesi, Fiziksel Tıp ve Rehabilitasyon Kliniği, İstanbul, Türkiye
2 Yeditepe Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi, Fiziksel Tıp ve Rehabilitasyon Anabilim Dalı, İstanbul, Türkiye

Objective: Aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between sleep disturbance severity and disease severity in Fibromiyalgia Syndrome (FMS) and to assess the effect of physical therapy program on insomnia severity. 
 

Materials and Methods: Sixty patients (57 female) diagnosed as primary FMS were conducted into the study. Patients were randomized to two groups. First group received 15 sessions of physical therapy program consisting of hot pack, ultrasound, TENS and low power laser (Group I). Second group served as control and did not receive any physical therapy program (Group II). Sleep disturbance was assessed by Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), pain was assessed by Visual Analoge Scale (VAS) and patient health status was assessed by Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ) before and after treatment concurrently in both groups. 
 

Results: Mean age was 37.3±10.9 years in Group-I and 36.4±12.6 years in Group-II. There was no difference regarding demographic properties between groups. ISI scores were found to be correlated with VAS-pain (r=0.343) and FIQ scores (r=0.321). Scores of ISI (p<0,001), VAS-pain (p<0.001) and FIQ (p=0.03) significantly improved in Group I compared to Group II. 
 

Conclusion: Sleep disturbance may be related with disease severity in FMS, and treatment of the disease with physical therapy program provides a decrease in insomnia severity. 

Keywords : Fibromyalgia, pain, insomnia, laser, physical therapy