BACKGROUND: The effectiveness of additive cognitive training in groups to the standard physical-medical therapy for primary and secondary fibromyalgia syndrome (p/sFMS) and a subsequent home-based self-training phase (STP) was analyzed. METHODS: In the prospective controlled randomized study, 32 people with confirmed p/sFMS were included, whereby 4 patients could not be evaluated. During 2 weeks of acute inpatient therapy, the control group (CG; n = 12) received standard physical-medical therapy and the intervention group (IG, n = 16) also received social-communicative cognitive group training (once/day, 60min). In the subsequent 3-months, STP training was continued by both groups. RESULTS: Outcome parameters at baseline (U1), at discharge (U2), and after a quarter year (U3) were pain, well-being/depressive mood, general health, and cognitive parameters (memory functions, cognitive speed). Both groups showed significant pain relief (U2 versus U1), which was 10% more in the IG. A significant improvement in mood could be seen in both groups, but only the IG no longer achieved depressive values in the follow-up (U3). An improvement in the general state of health was also detected in both groups, which was only maintained in the IG until the end of the STP. Cognitive performance remained the same in the IG at U2, while there was a reduction in the CG; cognitive speed could only be further improved in the IG during the STP. Adding cognitive training to a standard physical-medical clinical therapy resulted in significant pain relief and improvement of depression in patients during a hospital stay.

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