Can water therapy help in the treatment of fibromyalgia?

Therapeutic hydrotherapy may include balneotherapy (drinking or bathing in medicinal water), bathing in warm or cold water or mud, and spa therapy (drinking or bathing in thermal or mineral waters). A review of ten well-designed research studies testing the effects of hydrotherapy in a total of 446 people with fibromyalgia showed significant reductions in pain and improvements in quality of life.

The largest individual study randomly assigned 80 people who were being treated with medication to either continue their usual medications, or take their usual medications plus have 12 mud packs and 12 thermal baths administered over 2 weeks. There was no change in pain or disability in the people who merely continued their usual medications when they were retested 2 weeks and 16 weeks later. In contrast, the group that also used hydrotherapy had a 19% reduction in pain and a 23% drop in disability after 2 weeks. These benefits were not just short-term; reductions in pain and disability were still seen 14 weeks after completing therapy.

Another beneficial type of water therapy is aquatic therapy, which involves performing exercises in warm pool water. Performing exercises in warm water provides soothing benefits, and the water's buoyancy provides added support. People who have arthritis or joint stiffness in addition to fibromyalgia often particularly benefit from doing exercise in warm pool water. "Warm" is usually defined as 90-91 degrees F, or 32-33 degrees C.