Ba-Duan-Jin, barring sleep improvement, demonstrated similar beneficial impact as pregabalin on fibromyalgia symptoms, possibly by targeting the parahippocampal gyrus in the brain.
The clinical study conducted was based on a 12-week, single-blind trial followed by a 36-week review, featuring 104 fibromyalgia patients randomly split into two groups - one receiving Ba-Duan-Jin treatment and the other given pregabalin. The effectiveness of these treatments was evaluated from pain visual analogue scale scores along with other specialised scales relative to common fibromyalgia symptoms. To delve deeper into the relationship with brain functionality, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data was collected from patients both before and after their respective treatments.
The results from the treatment showed significant improvement in both the Ba-Duan-Jin and pregabalin groups regarding pain, fatigue, depression and several other factors. The only variance was noted in sleep improvement, where the pregabalin group showed superior results after 4 weeks. The persisting effects of these improvements were seen throughout the 12-week follow-up as well, with improvements in pain and quality of life even lasting up to the 36-week mark. Brain imaging results revealed elevated values in the parahippocampal gyrus for patients adequately responding to Ba-Duan-Jin, with pre-treatment values in this brain region positively tying in with improvement in overall symptoms and sleep quality for the Ba-Duan-Jin group.
