The December 19, 2008 issue of the Journal of Clinical Rheumatology released information from a study that was done to test the balance ability and fall frequency of Fibromyalgia patients compared to those of healthy participants.
Methods:
Thirty-four FM patients and 32 age-matched controls were administered the Balance Evaluation-Systems Test (BESTest), rated their balance confidence with the Activities-Specific Balance Confidence (ABC) Scale, and reported the number of falls in the last 6 months. The Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire was used to assess FM severity.
The results of the study revealed that:
- the Fibromyalgia patients had significantly impaired balance compared to that of the healthy participants in all areas of the BESTest.
- the Fibromyalgia patients performed poorly compared to that of the healthy participants on balance confidence.
- the overall FM severity (Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire) correlated significantly with the BESTest and the ABC scale. The BESTest and ABC correlated significantly with 6 commonly reported FM symptoms (excluding pain).
- in a six-month period, Fibromyalgia patients reported a total of 37 falls; the healthy participants reported a total of 6 falls.
Conclusion:
The study results suggest that Fibromyalgia may affect the “peripheral and/or central mechanisms of postural control”. Fibromyalgia patients were aware of their balance problems and Fibromyalgia is associated with increased falls and impaired balance.
You mean now I have something to blame my lifelong klutziness on? 😉
Actually, what I’d like to know is how many people who reported that fibro worsened balance problems also noted more clumsiness as children – even if they were able to overcome it with say, dancing lessons, martial arts participation, yoga, or any number of other athletic training programs that include intense lessons and/or practices, and which focus on balance. For how many of them is this klutziness a return of an old problem, one they’re now too sore and tired to fight?
In my case, I’ve always been able to fall over dust bunnies, air molecules, relative humidity, bad punch lines, up stairs, over flat surfaces without a single item in sight, and mostly, my own 2 feet (when they weren’t in my mouth). I took Judo as a kid to learn how to fall so I could do it with a bit more savoir-faire and a few less orthopedic injuries. As long as I kept up something like martial arts, dancing, even bike riding or skating, I didn’t fall as much. But once the fibro asserted itself, I found I was clumsy again, back to baseline over the years.
If it’s true that may fibro patients had childhood clumsiness, how many childhood klutzes ended up with fibro v. nothing or some other illness? I mean, other than traumatic arthritis! If it’s a high enough number, would it be enough to recommend to parents of pediatric klutzes that they might want to focus on balance in all areas of life – including stopping this wild ride between sports, lessons, school, and homework that is ruining children’s lives and making them into little adults, to the point that many have PDAs or smart phones programmed by their parents with the schedule for the day and the alarms to make sure their Little Darling is ready for the next (over)scheduled activity.
Who knows, we might find out that klutzy kids have some as-yet unknown tendency to fibro, and we might also find out that overscheduled kids are becoming so frequent that fibro is arriving earlier and earlier in people’s lives. It seems to me that “boomers” got fibro mostly a lot later in life than gen-Y and millenials who’ve been diagnosed, and that the course of our illness was generally less severe. Still debilitating but a slower course to total disability.
I’m probably wrong, but then, has anyone else got any idea about why the younger fibro patients are getting the disease earlier and earlier, and it’s getting more and more severe in ever younger patients? Even kids whose parents try to ease them out of overscheduling have to compete with the fact their kids’ friends are all overscheduled, and the only way for the kids to see each other at all is now at school, athletics, or other types of lessons, so they’ll join everything because of peer pressure or just to see friends who’re overscheduled.
Hi Amy, I was extremely clumsy as a child. I fell more times than I can count and I still have tendencies to trip, swagger, fall, over nothing.
I was just looking up this, because I just fell and this has been the second time this week. The first time I was starting to go upstairs and today I was walking to the kitchen and just feel flat on my face. I have fibromyagia and wanted to see if that was the case. I guess it is.
I’m with you all – yes, yes, and yes! I have FMS (20 years now)and am clumsy, fall, bump into things – sometimes it is worse than others. Often find bruising with no recollection as to how I got them. I’ve studied dance for many years and am beginning to learn 7* martial arts. Any physical activity you can work up to. Yoga is a great way to build up stregth and so is Tai Chi. Can be painful, but most of us with this disease know the difference between the normal pain of stretching and stregthening and FMS pain. Once you train your body, you can be capable of grace, at least while practicing your art form. It is a disease of overacheivers. Those with a predisposition are likely to develop it after any major trauma (physical, mental, emotional) – often goes hand in hand with PTSD.
I just developed fibromyalgia about a year ago. My balance and steadiness problems started about 6 months ago. Now I need a cane and can’t even pass the walking heel-to-toe test. I never had this problem before. I was very active and stable before fibro. I’ve started exercising daily, including working on balance. It helps a little. I am less steady the first thing in the morning and when I am tired, like after exercise.
Could you please add me to a newsletter or any postings that you do for fighting fatigue. Org. I am not able to find where I can sign up for a newsletter. Thank you so very much .