Exercising in the Sea Versus a Pool for Fibromyalgia
Women with fibromyalgia improved from water exercise either way, with a greater lift in mood from exercising in the sea.
Thalasso & Balneology, Fibromyalgia, Women's Health, Emotional Health, Smart Regeneration
This small trial took 46 women with fibromyalgia and randomly assigned them to the same twelve-week aerobic exercise programme carried out either in a heated pool or in the sea, a form of thalassotherapy. Both groups improved significantly on pain, tender points, sleep quality and overall function, showing that water exercise itself helps. The one clear difference favoured the sea group on depression scores, suggesting the marine setting added something for mood in particular. With only 46 participants and no dry-land comparison, this is an early finding, and the sea and pool results were otherwise closely matched. For a woman with fibromyalgia who lives near the coast, it points to gentle exercise in warm water as genuinely helpful, with a possible extra lift for mood when that water is the sea.
