What Have Clinical Trials Taught Us About the Treatment of Fibromyalgia?

Abstract

The treatment of fibromyalgia is generally unsatisfactory. Tricyclic agents and aerobic exercises have been the most extensively studied. In short-term clinical trials, they show favorable results in small proportions of patients. Their long-term efficacy, however, still remains to be demonstrated. Other treatment modalities, including cognitive-behavioral approaches, have been less extensively studied and therefore specific recommendations cannot be made. So far, no treatment has been shown to have any significant impact on the natural history of this condition.