Results
Sociodemographic Data
All the participants included in this study were Hispanic. As expected with FM patients, the great majority of the participants were female (96.9%). Only two men were included in the study (Table 1). Globally, the mean age of the individuals included in the study was 58.9 ± 10.9 years (range 18–82 years); 50.8% of the individuals were 60 years of age or older. The mean ages of individuals included in the three groups were 56.4 ± 11.9 years for group A, 62.9 ± 8.6 years for group B, and 57.3 ± 11.2 years for group C. A statistical difference was observed between group A and group B (p = .027). The percentage of older individuals (≥60 years) was higher in the group B than in the two others groups (68.2% versus 38.1% in group A and 47.6% in group C). The mean number of years between the onset of symptoms and diagnosis of the disease was 9.4 ± 8.8 years, and the mean number of years the patients had lived with the diagnosis was 10.5 ± 6.6 years. The mean score for satisfaction with the healthcare system was 6.2 ± 3.6; for satisfaction with the pharmacological medication, it was 5.1 ± 2.7; and for satisfaction with nonpharmacological therapies, it was 6.6 ± 3.2.
More than half the patients had completed primary education, 34% had completed secondary education, and none had completed university education. A total of 71.2% were married, 10.6% divorced, and 13.6% widowed, and 58.5% had at least one dependent. The perception of 45% was that they received little partner support; 34.4% were retired, 22.3% were on leave of absence from work or had a disability, and 16.4% were unemployed (Table 1).
As far as medication was concerned, 30.3% of individuals were taking opiates, 31.8% were taking nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), 31.8% had prior infiltration, 74.2% were taking antidepressants, 56.1% were taking anxiolytics, and 66.7% were taking other medications (tramadol, Lyrica, muscle relaxants, hypnotics, gabapentin, tricyclic antidepressants, hyaluronic acid). As for nonpharmacological therapies, 12% were using phytotherapy, 19.7% psychotherapy, 21.2% group therapy, 13.6% yoga, 1.5% music therapy, and 39% other therapies (acupuncture, hot–cold therapy, tai chi, walking, dancing, relaxation).
Pre- and Postintervention Variables
Overall, the perceived general state of health (from 0 to 10) of all patients with FM after the intervention was greater than the general state of health of the same patients before the intervention (4.47 ± 2.03 versus 3.85 ± 1.71, respectively). Although this global improvement observed after the interventions was not statistically significant, the infiltration group (A) and the GPST group (B) significantly improved their state of health (p = .016 and p = .001, respectively; Table 2). The state of health index also improved after the intervention in all three groups, but did not attain statistical significance (Table 2).
The general suicide risk (≥6) was high at 7.3 ± 3.0, and after the interventions it fell to 6.8 ± 3.0. It was significantly reduced in the infiltration+GPST group C (p = .049, Table 2). Disruption of nocturnal sleep in the three groups was considerable before treatment at 8.9 ± 4.7, and after treatment it fell to 8.3 ± 4.6. Disruption of daytime sleep in the three groups was low both pre- and postintervention.
Infiltration reduced pain by 31.8%, therapy by 13.6%, and GPST+infiltration by 22.7%. As observed in Table 3, infiltration improved pain and anxiety/depression (31.8% and 36.4%), but the improvement in anxiety/depression was greater with GPST (45%). The combination of the two therapies (Group C) significantly improved the results of the two therapies applied separately, with the exception of suicide risk (Table 2).