Abstract
Objective. To test the hypothesis that fibromyalgia (FM) patients with reduced lower extremity strength are more symptomatic and tender than FM patients with normal muscle strength. Methods. A total of 840 FM patients and 122 healthy subjects were evaluated between 1998 and 2005. All of the patients completed version 1 of the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ) and were assessed for tender points and knee muscle strength. All subjects underwent bilateral isokinetic knee muscle strength testing in flexion and extension. Normative knee muscle strength values were calculated from the healthy subjects, and the FM cohort was divided in 2 groups: 1) patients with normal muscle strength and 2) patients with low muscle strength (2 SDs below normal). The clinical characteristics of these 2 groups were compared. Results. Significantly reduced knee muscle strength was found in 52% of the patients. There were no clinically significant differences between patients with low versus normal muscle strength. There were no clinically significant correlations between total FIQ score, tender point count, and muscle strength. Only 4.6% of the FIQ scores and 5.1% of the tender point counts were explained by muscle strength. Conclusion. Significantly reduced knee muscle strength was found in more than half of the patients. Patients with subnormal muscle strength were not more symptomatic or tender than patients with normal muscle strength. There were no clinically significant correlations between FIQ, tender point count, and muscle strength; therefore, reduced knee muscle strength appears to be a common objective abnormality in FM that is independent of measurements of disease activity. The implication of this finding in regard to the clinical assessment of FM needs further study.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 732-739 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | Arthritis Care and Research |
| Volume | 61 |
| Issue number | 6 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jun 15 2009 |
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ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Rheumatology
Cite this
Relationships between the fibromyalgia impact questionnaire, tender point count, and muscle strength in female patients with fibromyalgia : A cohort study. / Henriksen, Marius; Lund, Hans; Christensen, Robin; Jespersen, Anders; Dreyer, Lene; Bennett, Robert (Rob); Danneskiold-Samsøe, Bente; Bliddal, Henning.
In: Arthritis Care and Research, Vol. 61, No. 6, 15.06.2009, p. 732-739.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Relationships between the fibromyalgia impact questionnaire, tender point count, and muscle strength in female patients with fibromyalgia
T2 - A cohort study
AU - Henriksen, Marius
AU - Lund, Hans
AU - Christensen, Robin
AU - Jespersen, Anders
AU - Dreyer, Lene
AU - Bennett, Robert (Rob)
AU - Danneskiold-Samsøe, Bente
AU - Bliddal, Henning
PY - 2009/6/15
Y1 - 2009/6/15
N2 - Objective. To test the hypothesis that fibromyalgia (FM) patients with reduced lower extremity strength are more symptomatic and tender than FM patients with normal muscle strength. Methods. A total of 840 FM patients and 122 healthy subjects were evaluated between 1998 and 2005. All of the patients completed version 1 of the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ) and were assessed for tender points and knee muscle strength. All subjects underwent bilateral isokinetic knee muscle strength testing in flexion and extension. Normative knee muscle strength values were calculated from the healthy subjects, and the FM cohort was divided in 2 groups: 1) patients with normal muscle strength and 2) patients with low muscle strength (2 SDs below normal). The clinical characteristics of these 2 groups were compared. Results. Significantly reduced knee muscle strength was found in 52% of the patients. There were no clinically significant differences between patients with low versus normal muscle strength. There were no clinically significant correlations between total FIQ score, tender point count, and muscle strength. Only 4.6% of the FIQ scores and 5.1% of the tender point counts were explained by muscle strength. Conclusion. Significantly reduced knee muscle strength was found in more than half of the patients. Patients with subnormal muscle strength were not more symptomatic or tender than patients with normal muscle strength. There were no clinically significant correlations between FIQ, tender point count, and muscle strength; therefore, reduced knee muscle strength appears to be a common objective abnormality in FM that is independent of measurements of disease activity. The implication of this finding in regard to the clinical assessment of FM needs further study.
AB - Objective. To test the hypothesis that fibromyalgia (FM) patients with reduced lower extremity strength are more symptomatic and tender than FM patients with normal muscle strength. Methods. A total of 840 FM patients and 122 healthy subjects were evaluated between 1998 and 2005. All of the patients completed version 1 of the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ) and were assessed for tender points and knee muscle strength. All subjects underwent bilateral isokinetic knee muscle strength testing in flexion and extension. Normative knee muscle strength values were calculated from the healthy subjects, and the FM cohort was divided in 2 groups: 1) patients with normal muscle strength and 2) patients with low muscle strength (2 SDs below normal). The clinical characteristics of these 2 groups were compared. Results. Significantly reduced knee muscle strength was found in 52% of the patients. There were no clinically significant differences between patients with low versus normal muscle strength. There were no clinically significant correlations between total FIQ score, tender point count, and muscle strength. Only 4.6% of the FIQ scores and 5.1% of the tender point counts were explained by muscle strength. Conclusion. Significantly reduced knee muscle strength was found in more than half of the patients. Patients with subnormal muscle strength were not more symptomatic or tender than patients with normal muscle strength. There were no clinically significant correlations between FIQ, tender point count, and muscle strength; therefore, reduced knee muscle strength appears to be a common objective abnormality in FM that is independent of measurements of disease activity. The implication of this finding in regard to the clinical assessment of FM needs further study.
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U2 - 10.1002/art.24512
DO - 10.1002/art.24512
M3 - Article
VL - 61
SP - 732
EP - 739
JO - Arthritis and Rheumatology
JF - Arthritis and Rheumatology
SN - 2326-5191
IS - 6
ER -