Background: Fourty five % of Fibromyalgia Syndrome (FMS) patients was reported to complain of balance impairment that may be due to sensory deficits, cognitive impairment and clinical symptoms such as pain, sleep problems, fatigue, muscle weakness. Although there are studies on the relationship between balance problems and core stability, there are no studies evaluating core stability in patients with FMS to the authors’ knowledge.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to compare core endurance and balance in patients with FMS with healthy subjects and to evaluate the relationship between core endurance and balance.

Methods: The study included 44 FMS patients and 44 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. Demographic data of the participants were recorded. Then, core endurance was assessed with McGill core endurance tests, balance was evaluated with HUR BTG4 Balance Master System and Berg Balance Scale (BBS), and function was assessed with Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ).

Results: The assessment parameters were completed by all participants in the study. There was no significant difference between patients with FMS and healthy controls in demographics (p>0.05). There were significant differences between the BBS and static and dynamic balance assessments between the groups (p<0.05). A significant difference was found in the trunk extension and prone bridge tests of static core endurance tests and BBS in patients with FMS compared to the control group (p<0.001). There was a moderate negative correlation between side bridge test- right and eyes closed balance test in stable platform-velocity measurement (r=-0.309, p=0.042). Significant correlations were found between BBS and eyes closed balance test in unstable platform- area (r=0.328, p=0.030) and eyes closed balance test in unstable platform- length (r=0.329, p=0.029).

Conclusion: Patients with FMS was concluded to have impaired core endurance and balance compared to healthy subjects. However, static and dynamic balance and core endurance tests were not significantly correlated in patients with FMS. This may be interpreted that balance does not affect the decreased core endurance in patients with FMS. Further studies should investigate the factors affecting core endurance in FMS patients.

REFERENCES: [1] Tas NP, Baykara RA, Erdal A, Kal GA. Relationship Between Balance and Vitamin D in Fibromyalgia Syndrome: A Prospective Cross-Sectional Study with HUR BTG4 Balance Master System®. SN Compr Clin Med. 28 Eylül 2023;5(1):233.

[2] Sindwani D, Kaur M. A comparison of core muscle endurance of females with fibromyalgia versus healthy females: An observational study. Revista Colombiana de Reumatología [İnternet]. 2023.

Acknowledgements: NIL.

Disclosure of Interests: None declared.

© The Authors 2025. This abstract is an open access article published in Annals of Rheumatic Diseases under the CC BY-NC-ND license ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ ). Neither EULAR nor the publisher make any representation as to the accuracy of the content. The authors are solely responsible for the content in their abstract including accuracy of the facts, statements, results, conclusion, citing resources etc.