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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Pain Res.
Sec. Non-Pharmacological Treatment of Pain
Volume 6 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpain.2025.1526491
The Impact of a Heat Therapy Intervention on Pain and Fibromyalgia Symptoms in Patients with Fibromyalgia: A Pilot Study
Provisionally accepted- 1 Department of Anesthesiology, School of Medicine, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, Kansas, United States
- 2 School of Medicine, University of Missouri–Kansas City, Kansas City, Kansas, United States
- 3 Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, School of Medicine, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan, United States
- 4 Department of Biostatistics, School of Medicine, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, Kansas, United States
- 5 Department of Cell Biology and Physiology, School of Medicine, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, Kansas, United States
aims to provide the readership with data from a pilot study that highlights the clinical and molecular effects of a non-pharmacologic intervention for the treatment of fibromyalgia. The non-pharmacologic intervention studied was immersion into a hot water bath (a "hot tub") for 45 minutes, 3 days a week, for 4 weeks. Results from our study highlight significant improvement in pain severity scores, physical functioning, and fibromyalgia symptoms. To explore mechanisms that may be related to the pain relief, we measured various heat shock proteins and inflammatory markers. Clinicians who treat fibromyalgia and patients with fibromyalgia are often desiring safe, non-pharmacologic options to treat the symptoms associated with the condition. We believe this manuscript fits the scope of the Non-Pharmacologic Intervention section of the journal and fits the mission and scope of the journal.
Keywords: Fibromyalgia, Chronic Pain, Non-pharmacologic intervention, Nociplastic pain, heat therapy
Received: 11 Nov 2024; Accepted: 25 Feb 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Chadwick, Shi, Mc Millan, Miller, Hu and Geiger. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Andrea L Chadwick, Department of Anesthesiology, School of Medicine, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, Kansas, United States
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.