Integrative and complementary practices in fibromyalgia: medicinal plants and herbal medicines

Abstract

Fibromyalgia is a syndrome defined by generalized chronic pain with various symptoms, including fatigue, poor sleep quality and other comorbidities. Pharmacological interventions are often unsuccessful, leading patients to seek other treatment alternatives. The objective of this work was to analyze the scientific evidence in the databases with emphasis on medicinal and phytotherapeutic plants. The research method used was integrative bibliographic review with a qualitative approach, delimited by the guide question: What is the relevance of integrative and complementary practices with emphasis on medicinal and herbal plants in patients with fibromyalgia? After the selection of 1,075 articles, two criteria were applied, being the inclusion criterion: Articles published in the last 05 years, between 2017 and 2021; articles published in the Portuguese and English; articles, by title and summary and review on the subject. The exclusion criteria were as follows: Duplicate articles in the database; incomplete articles; booklets, books, booklets, dissertation, thesis and course completion work. In short, selected in a total of 06 articles for the preparation of the present work, these were presented in the form of a table and exposed shortly thereafter. Thus, we can highlight that the use of integrative and complementary practices with emphasis on medicinal and herbal plants may present a positive therapy approach for patients with fibromyalgia because it shows points in improving quality of life and reducing some symptoms presented by fibromyalgia.