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Research and Paywalls: Homeopathy Plus regularly reports on homeopathic research, past and present, but we can’t link to complete research papers if they are behind a journal paywall - we can only provide a summary and abstract. If you wish to access a full paper from behind a paywall, please click on the link provided for the publisher’s purchase options.

Study: Homeopathy and Fibromyalgia

Highlights

Fibromyalgia sufferers were treated according to their unique symptom profiles with individualised homeopathic remedies. The double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trial ran over a 4-month period.

Participants reported:

  • Significant improvements in pain, quality of life, and overall health,
  • Reduced tendency to depression.

Study: Homeopathy and Fibromyalgia 2

Objective

To assess the efficacy of individualized classical homeopathy in the treatment of fibromyalgia.

Researchers

Bell IR, Lewis DA, Brooks AJ, Schwartz GE, Lewis SE, Walsh BT, Baldwin CM.

Methods

This study was a double-blind, randomized, parallel-group, placebo-controlled trial of homeopathy. Community-recruited persons (N = 62) with physician-confirmed fibromyalgia (mean age 49 yr, s.d. 10 yr, 94% women) were treated in a homeopathic private practice setting.

Participants were randomized to receive oral daily liquid LM (1/50,000) potencies with an individually chosen homeopathic remedy or an indistinguishable placebo.

Homeopathic visits involved joint interviews and concurrence on remedy selection by two experienced homeopaths, at baseline, 2 months and 4 months (prior to a subsequent optional crossover phase of the study which is reported elsewhere).

Tender point count and tender point pain on examination by a medical assessor uninvolved in providing care, self-rating scales on fibromyalgia-related quality of life, pain, mood and global health at baseline and 3 months, were the primary clinical outcome measures for this report.

Results

Fifty-three people completed the treatment protocol.

Participants on active treatment showed significantly greater improvements in tender point count and tender point pain, quality of life, global health and a trend toward less depression compared with those on placebo.

Conclusions

This study replicates and extends a previous 1-month placebo-controlled crossover study in fibromyalgia that pre-screened for only one homeopathic remedy.

Using a broad selection of remedies and the flexible LM dose (1/50,000 dilution factor) series, the present study demonstrated that individualized homeopathy is significantly better than placebo in lessening tender point pain and improving the quality of life and global health of persons with fibromyalgia.

Journal Purchase Point for Full Report: Improved clinical status in fibromyalgia patients treated with individualized homeopathic remedies versus placebo