Connais, C. · Dissertation Abstracts International (ProQuest), University of the Rockies · 2009
Results were not statistically significant, though data indicated overall improvement for the EFT treatment group compared to wait-list.
Picture someone with fibromyalgia, living with chronic pain that's notoriously hard to treat and often dismissed by the medical system. This tiny study only trended toward improvement rather than proving it, but if a larger trial someday finds a real effect, it would matter enormously for a patient population that has few good options — especially because tapping is something they could learn once and use on themselves whenever pain flares, without another prescription, side effect, or appointment.
Given the trend toward improvement here didn't reach significance in such a small sample, the clear next step is a properly powered trial in fibromyalgia patients that adds objective measures, inflammatory markers, cortisol, or functional pain-processing imaging, since fibromyalgia is increasingly understood as involving altered central pain processing that self-report scales alone can't fully capture. Tracking sleep quality via actigraphy alongside symptom scores would also help clarify whether any real EFT effect touches the sleep disruption that so often compounds fibromyalgia pain.
| Design | Randomized trial |
|---|---|
| Participants | 6 people |
| Population | women diagnosed with Fibromyalgia Syndrome (FMS) |
| Comparison group | wait-list control |
| Outcome measures | somatic symptom measures (unspecified) |
| Journal | Dissertation Abstracts International (ProQuest), University of the Rockies |
| Year | 2009 |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Method | EFT / tapping |
| Publication type | Dissertation |
| Verification | ✓ Confirmed against the primary source |
Connais, C. (2009). The effectiveness of emotional freedom technique on the somatic symptoms of fibromyalgia. Dissertation Abstracts International (ProQuest), University of the Rockies.
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