Biodanza Reduces Acute Pain Severity in Women with Fibromyalgia

Abstract

Biodanza is a useful therapy for the fibromyalgia management; however, there is no evidence of its effectiveness on acute pain. The objectives of the present study were: to determine the changes of a 3-month Biodanza program on acute pain severity (before vs. after session) and cumulative pain severity in women with fibromyalgia; and to check the associations of acute pain severity reduction with presession pain severity, body fat percentage, and satisfaction with the session. This was a 3-month low-moderate intensity (rate of perceived exertion around 12, based on a 6-20 point scale) Biodanza intervention study (1 session/week). Twenty-seven women with fibromyalgia (54.2 ± 6.2 years) participated. Pain severity was assessed before and after each single session with a visual analog scale. There were immediate changes in all sessions (p = .001-.028), except in the first, second, and fourth sessions. An overall 16% decrease of acute pain severity before and after each session was noted (mean presession pain vs. postsession pain, 5.8 ± 2.1 vs. 4.9 ± 2.4; respectively). There was an independent association of pain severity reduction (presession-postsession) with presession pain severity (unstandardized coefficient B = .21 ± .05; standardized coefficient β = .25; p < .001), body fat percentage (B = -.05 ± .02; β = -.18; p = .003), and satisfaction with the session (B = .40 ± .15; β = .16; p = .007). There was a significant cumulative effect decrease in postsession pain severity (p < .001; 95% confidence interval [CI] = -.14, -.05) and presession-postsession pain severity (p = .007; 95% CI = .02, .12) along the 3-month intervention. No significant cumulative effect in presession pain severity was identified (p > .05). In conclusion, Biodanza is an alternative therapy that reduced acute pain severity in women with fibromyalgia. The intervention also yielded cumulative pain severity reduction, which were higher in those women with fibromyalgia presenting higher presession pain severity and lower body fat percentage. The satisfaction with the session was also a key factor positively associated with pain reduction.