Pain education to women with fibromyalgia using the DolorÔmetro game

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES:

Doubts and questions about the general aspects of pain, maladaptive beliefs, knowledge about pain neurophysiology, and its impact on exercise are common in fibromyalgia patients. This study aimed to evaluate the knowledge about pain in women with fibromyalgia through the DolorÔmetro game.

METHODS:

A quasi-experimental study with a qualitative and quantitative approach. Twenty women with a clinical diagnosis of fibromyalgia and aged 18 to 60 years were evaluated. The patients answered two questions at the beginning and end of the game. The intervention consisted of the use of 9 cards from the six domains of the game DolorÔmetro to motivate discussions about the theme.

RESULTS:

The sample had a mean age of 50.6±9.6 years and a diagnostic time of 6.5±4.6 years. The number of hits and errors in each domain was observed. In the “acceptance” domain, four errors were found in statement 1 and twelve in statement 2. In the “attitudes” domain, only two in statement 4 and one in statement 8. In the “kinesiophobia” domain, all errors were only in statement 2. In the “knowledge” domain, nineteen women missed statement 3. In the “anxiety” domain, fifteen women missed statement 1. Finally, in the “catastrophic” domain, ten women missed statement 2.

CONCLUSION:

Conducting an education in pain, lasting in one hour in a single moment, contributed to the participants expressing their doubts and previous questions and after the moment of education, however doubts persisted in the domains of acceptance, kinesiophobia, knowledge and anxiety.

Keywords:
Chronic pain; Fibromyalgia; Health education; Physiotherapy; Rheumatology