Can an Aerobic Exercise Programme Improve the Response of the Growth Hormone in Fibromyalgia Patients? A Randomised Controlled Trial

Nerea C. Estrada-Marcén, Jaime Casterad-Seral, Jesus Montero-Marin () and Enrique Serrano-Ostáriz
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Nerea C. Estrada-Marcén: Faculty of Health and Sport Sciences, University of Zaragoza, 22002 Huesca, Spain
Jaime Casterad-Seral: Faculty of Health and Sport Sciences, University of Zaragoza, 22002 Huesca, Spain
Jesus Montero-Marin: Department of Psychiatry, Warneford Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7JX, UK
Enrique Serrano-Ostáriz: Faculty of Medicine, University of Zaragoza, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 3, 1-11

Abstract: Downgrade alterations in the growth hormone (GH) might be involved in the development of some of the fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) symptoms. Our aim was to assess the effects of an aerobic exercise programme on the GH levels in patients with FMS. A randomised controlled trial was developed. Sixty-four Spanish women with FMS were randomly assigned to the experimental arm (n = 33) and treated with a 16-week group physical exercise programme based on low impact aerobic dance (three weekly sessions, one-hour each), or to the treatment-as-usual (TAU) control arm (n = 31). The primary outcome was the GH response to acute exercise. Secondary outcomes were GH basal, sensitivity to pain, body composition, aerobic capacity, and quality of life. The ANCOVA results showed a moderate effect of treatment improving the GH response to acute exercise. Other effects were substantial for aerobic capacity, quality of life, and body composition. Pre-intervention GH response to acute exercise was related to improvements in aerobic capacity and quality of life. An aerobic exercise programme may improve the response of the GH, aerobic capacity, body composition, and quality of life in women with FMS. The normalization of neuro-hormonal patterns involving the GH might be key for improving some FMS symptoms.

Keywords: fibromyalgia; exercise; GH; quality of life; aerobic capacity; body composition (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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