Nerve stimulation could help people with fibromyalgia tolerate physical therapy

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2026-03-28 02:00

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Electrical nerve stimulation could help people with fibromyalgia participate in physical therapy with less pain, according to international researchers. Fibromyalgia is a chronic disorder that causes widespread body pain and fatigue, and while exercise is recommended as a treatment, it can be painful for people with the condition to attempt. Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) is a treatment that can provide pain relief, and the researchers tested whether it could improve pain in fibromyalgia patients doing physical therapy by recruiting 384 patients and randomising half to receive TENS and physical therapy while the rest just received physical therapy over two months. The researchers say the TENS group reported improvements in movement-related pain relative to the physical therapy-only group, and these improvements were still apparent after six months. In an accompanying editorial, international researchers say TENS shows promise for a condition with few evidence-based treatments, and note the physical therapy-only group had poor outcomes, which reinforces the need for exercise therapy that specifically caters for fibromyalgia patients.