Mind-body therapies for the treatment of fibromyalgia: a systematic review

CRD COMMENTARY: The review question was clear in terms of the intervention and study design. Only participants with fibromyalgia were eligible, but a strict definition of this condition was not one of the eligibility criteria. However, all but one of the RCTs used recognised criteria for the diagnosis of fibromyalgia. The search was adequate with searches of several relevant databases, attempts to locate unpublished studies, and no language limitations. The study selection, validity assessment and data extraction processes were performed in duplicate and this reduced the potential for bias and errors. Validity was assessed and scored using defined criteria and relevant information on the included studies was tabulated. The studies reporting short-term outcomes were appropriately grouped by the interventions compared and a narrative synthesis was undertaken. The level of evidence for each comparison was summarised, taking into account the quality of the studies. Longer term outcomes were less clearly summarised in the review. The evidence presented tends to support the authors' conclusion for short-term outcomes.