The comparison of effectiveness of aerobic exercise and aerobic exercise with kinesio taping treatments in fibromyalgia syndrome

Aim: The aim of this study is to determine the effectiveness of aerobic exercise and aerobic exercise with kinesio taping treatment approaches in patients with Fibromyalgia Syndrome (FM) as well as to evaluate the superiority of these treatment approaches overto each other. Material and Methods: Forty patients diagnosed with FM according to the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) 1990 criteria for the classification of FM were included in this study and the patients were randomly divided into two equal groups. Aerobic exercise program was performed for 8 weeks in the first group and aerobic exercise program for 8 weeks with 15-day kinesio taping treatment was performed in the second group. Results: When the superiority of the two treatment approaches to each other was compared, aerobic exercise with kinesio taping treatment was more effective than only aerobic exercise treatment in reducing the severity of pain (p<0,001), fatigue (p<0,05) and sleep disturbance (p<0,05), improving the physical functioning (p<0,05) and improving the physical functioning and bodily pain (p<0,05) subscales of Short Form-36 (SF-36). Discussion: Results of the study suggested that aerobic exercises are an effective treatment method on reducing the symptoms and level of depression, improving the physical functioning and quality of life in patients with FM and the kinesio taping method provides a significant benefit in these patients. Further studies are needed to determine the effectiveness of kinesio taping in the treatment of FM.