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Utilizing Clinical Treatments with a Limited Evidence Base

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Abstract

Patients with fibromyalgia suffer from a myriad of symptoms across multiple functional domains. Attempts to offer these patients relief has led to a wide variation in the use of different treatment modalities, some of which have not been systematically studied and therefore have limited evidence basis for their efficacy. In this chapter, we review several treatment modalities for which there is limited evidence in the literature but that are commonly used by clinicians. Treatments reviewed here include: single modality approaches, complementary and alternative therapy, stretching and flexibility exercises, electrotherapy, pharmacotherapy with drugs such as opioids and benzodiazepines, and the use of interventional therapy such as trigger point injections.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA

    Eugene Hsu MD, MBA

  2. Harvard Medical School, Brigham & Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA, USA

    Srdjan S. Nedeljkovic MD

Authors
  1. Eugene Hsu MD, MBA
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  2. Srdjan S. Nedeljkovic MD
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Eugene Hsu MD, MBA .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Voluntary Faculty, Department of Anesthesiology, Center for Pain Medicine, University of California San Diego,, Lexington, South Carolina, USA

    Erin Lawson, MD

  2. Professor of Clinical Anesthesiology,Chief, Division of Pain Medicine, Department of Anesthesiology, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA

    Mark S. Wallace, MD

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© 2015 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

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Hsu, E., Nedeljkovic, S. (2015). Utilizing Clinical Treatments with a Limited Evidence Base. In: Lawson, MD, E., Wallace, MD, M. (eds) Fibromyalgia. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-15820-4_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-15820-4_9

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-15819-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-15820-4

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