OBJECTIVE: To determine the level of improvement, as regards pain, impact on fibromyalgia and depression, achieved by patients with fibromyalgia by comparing aquatic biodanza and stretching exercises. DESIGN: Randomised controlled trial with two intervention groups. LOCATION: Five health centres (Almeria). PATIENTS: A total of 82 fibromyalgia patients between 18 and 65 years old, diagnosed by American College of Rheumatology criteria, were included, with 12 patients declining to take part in the study. The 70 remaining patients were randomly assigned to two groups of 35 patients each: aquatic biodanza and stretching exercises. Those who did not attend in at least 14 sessions or changed their treatment during the studio were excluded. The final sample consisted of 19 patients in aquatic biodanza group and 20 in stretching group. The limitations of the study included, the open evaluation design and a sample size reduced by defaults. MAIN MEASURES: The outcome measures were sociodemographic data, quality of life (Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire), pain (McGill-Melzack questionnaire; and visual analogue scale), pressure algometry (Wagner FPI10 algometer) and depression (Beck Inventory). These were carried out before and after a 12-week therapy. RESULTS: The mean age of the sample was 55.41 years. The mean period from diagnosis was 13.44 years. The sample consisted mainly of housewives. There were significant differences (p < 0.05) between groups, in pain (p < 0.01), fibromyalgia impact (p < 0.01), and depression (p < 0.04) after the treatment. CONCLUSIONS: The biodanza aquatic exercises improve pain and quality of life in fibromyalgia patients.

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