Homeopathic Relief for Fibromyalgia

Fibromyalgia is a chronic pain syndrome of unknown etiology. Patients with fibromyalgia are most often women of childbearing age, though this condition can occur in children and in men. There are few effective treatment options for fibromyalgia, leading many people with fibromyalgia to experiment with complementary and alternative medicine.

One complementary healing modality, in particular, is well-established in India and various European countries. Though homeopathy often finds itself at the core of heated debate in scientific literature, this alternative medicine system has maintained and even increased in popularity over the past 250 years since its inception.

In the simplest of terms, homeopathy uses the "like cures like" approach to treat illness. Ultra-dilute preparations of biologically active substances are consumed in order to relieve symptoms and ideally move the homeopathically treated individual toward a state of mental, physical and energetic balance.

Could the uniqueness of the homeopathic approach to healing open a possible path toward relief of the chronic pain, fatigue and stiffness associated with fibromyalgia?

One recent clinical trial has investigated this very question. A double blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial published in the journal Rheumatology specifically looked at whether individualized homeopathic remedies could improve the clinical status of fibromyalgia patients.

In this recent study, 62 patients with confirmed fibromyalgia were randomized to receive either a placebo (non-medicinal liquid) or a liquid homeopathic remedy chosen by the agreement of two experienced homeopaths. All of the homeopathic remedies were dosed in LM potencies, the homeopathic potency range thought to be particularly effective for mental-emotional and mind-body symptoms.

The results of this study were intriguing. Though small, the study was adequately powered to detect a statistically significant change in the number and painfulness of fibromyalgia-associated tender points. Over three months of homeopathic treatment, study participants who were receiving homeopathic treatment showed a reduction of tender point count and at least a 25% improvement in the painfulness of tender points when palpated as compared to those who received placebo.

In addition, the study participants who had received individualized homeopathic remedies rated the helpfulness of their treatment significantly greater that those participants who had received only placebo. In the homeopathically treated group, there was also a statistically significant improvement in self-reported quality of life.

There are precious few effective treatment options for patients suffering from fibromyalgia. This randomized controlled pilot study on the use of homeopathy in the treatment of fibromyalgia yielded encouraging results and suggests further investigation may be beneficial.

Source: Bell, I. R. et al. Improved clinical status in fibromyalgia patients treated with individualized homeopathic remedies versus placebo. Rheumatology 2004;43:577-582