PATIENT TRAINING IN FIBROMYALGIA

Current experiences have shown that in fibromyalgia successes in thera py and rehabilitation are strongly bound to the patients' personal com petence and responsibility in relation to their illness. The lack of i nformation is great. Hence, the basis of any treatment of fibromyalgia is an interactive transfer of knowledge of the disease, the possibili ties of treatment, the valency of motion, the relief of pain and the c ontrolling of daily stress and disease activity. An interdisciplinary attempt to promote patient education, as it has proved its worth in rh eumatoid arthritis patients, is an excellent approach to the problem. Patient education in fibromyalgia was promoted on an interdisciplinary and supraregional basis during the last two years and is being tested since Oct. 1996. We intend to publish the patient education manual wi th trainer information reflecting didactic and methodical aspects, wor king instructions and patient handouts, by the end of 1997.