Doctor, I have pain and discomfort from fibromyalgia: Can a digital therapy app help me manage my symptoms?

The Stanza digital smart phone app which teaches Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) improved symptoms due to fibromyalgia more than a control app that only tracked symptoms without offering treatment.

What is the evidence?

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS

Digital Acceptance and Commitment Therapy App vs. Symptom Tracking App

Outcome (from baseline to 12 weeks)	Digital Acceptance and Commitment Therapy App	Symptom Tracking App	Effect
Overall symptom improvement	71%	22%	About 49 more people out of 100 using the digital ACT app reported at least minimal improvement in symptoms compared to people who used the symptom tracking app

Outcome

(from baseline to 12 weeks)

Digital Acceptance and Commitment Therapy App

Symptom Tracking App

Effect

Overall symptom improvement

71%

22%

About 49 more people out of 100 using the digital ACT app reported at least minimal improvement in symptoms compared to people who used the symptom tracking app

*Not all outcomes measured in the study are reported here. Overall symptom improvement was reported using Patient Global Impression of Change scale.

What kind of study was this?

This was a randomized controlled trial (RCT).

Who? This study included 275 adults with fibromyalgia, aged 22 to 75, mostly women, recruited from 25 community sites across the United States.

What? The study compared a Digital Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) app with another app that offered daily symptom tracking and access to fibromyalgia-related educational materials.

Digital ACT app	vs	Symptom tracking app
Digital ACT app: smartphone app that provided self-guided sessions on mindfulness (type of meditation where you focus on your feelings without judgement), lifestyle changes, and behavioural exercises designed to improve ability to accept feelings and reduce pain. People could use the app whenever they wanted. There was no direct supervision from healthcare providers. People were encouraged to spend 15 to 20 minutes to complete a session on the app at least 5 days per week for a total of 42 sessions. There were also 6 study visits.		Symptom tracking app: smartphone app that provided daily symptom tracking and educational materials but did not teach ACT. People were encouraged to spend 15 to 20 minutes on the app at least 5 days per week for a total of 42 sessions. There were also 6 study visits.

Digital ACT app

Symptom tracking app

Digital ACT app: smartphone app that provided self-guided sessions on mindfulness (type of meditation where you focus on your feelings without judgement), lifestyle changes, and behavioural exercises designed to improve ability to accept feelings and reduce pain.

People could use the app whenever they wanted. There was no direct supervision from healthcare providers.

People were encouraged to spend 15 to 20 minutes to complete a session on the app at least 5 days per week for a total of 42 sessions. There were also 6 study visits.

Symptom tracking app: smartphone app that provided daily symptom tracking and educational materials but did not teach ACT.

People were encouraged to spend 15 to 20 minutes on the app at least 5 days per week for a total of 42 sessions. There were also 6 study visits.

Why was this research done?

Fibromyalgia is known for causing widespread pain and fatigue. There are few effective treatment options. Researchers wanted to know if a Digital Acceptance and Commitment Therapy app could improve symptoms for people with fibromyalgia. They found that people who used the Digital ACT app experienced greater improvement in their symptoms than people who used another app that just tracked symptoms and provided educational materials. Concerns about this study include that it was performed mostly in people who were well educated and comfortable with using technology and that the apps were only used over a short period of time (12 weeks). More studies are needed to confirm these findings over a longer term and across a more diverse group of people.

This Evidence Summary is based on the following article:

Gendreau RM, McCracken LM, Williams DA, et al. Self-guided digital behavioural therapy versus active control for fibromyalgia (PROSPER-FM): a phase 3, multicentre, randomised controlled trial. Lancet. 2024 Jul 27;404(10450):364-374. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(24)00909-7. Epub 2024 Jul 8. PubMed

Published: Friday, September 6, 2024

Please note that the information contained herein is not to be interpreted as an alternative to medical advice from a professional healthcare provider. If you have any questions about any medical matter, you should consult your professional healthcare providers, and should never delay seeking medical advice, disregard medical advice or discontinue medication based on information provided here.

This Evidence Summary was printed from the PAIN+ CPN website on 2024/09/16.

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