Effects of Manual Therapy on Autonomic Nervous System's Balance, Pain and Well-being in Patients With Fibromyalgia

Scientific literature dealing with patients with fibromyalgia conveys they suffer from an abnormal response of the autonomic nervous sýstem, where a marked sympathetic hyperactivity and a decrease in heart rate variability are emphasized. It is important to know what manual therapy techniques may manage to decrease the sympathetic activity and balance the sympathetic‐vagal tone, therefore improving pain and life quality. This study will compare the effects of joint passive mobilization with the effects of soft tissue active mobilization on heart rate variability (as an indicator of autonomous regulation), psychological well‐being (measured by the Ryff scale) and pain in patients with fibromyalgia. The authors expect a stronger decrease in the sympathetic nervous system activation; a greater reduction in pain, and a bigger improvement in well‐being and anxiety in those patients treated with active mobilization of soft tissues than passive mobilization group.