People suffering from fibromyalgia must deal with living in constant pain that can lead to fatigue and cognitive problems as a result. In an attempt to combat these problems as a whole, researchers from the Fibromyalgia Evaluation and Research Center at Georgetown University Medical Center recently conducted a study to test the effect exercise had on the condition.
Scientists looked at nine women with the disorder who had MRI scans taking during the initial meeting. They also had their memory tested, and researchers recorded how much pain they were in. After the initial testing, participants were taken off of their medication and instead began a six-week aerobics program for 30 minutes three times a week.
From the data, researchers found that participants memory skills went down during the first week of the program, but memory later improved as the pain lessened over the course of the study.
Although researchers pointed out that not all sufferers are able to exercise, those providing elder care to someone with the disorder may want to see if working out could reduce their loved ones side effects.