Supervised land- and water-based exercise intervention in women with fibromyalgia: CERT- based exercise study protocol of the al-Ándalus physical activity randomised controlled trial

ABSTRACT Background Exercise is recommended for managing fibromyalgia; however, the scant details provided about exercise programs (EP) in the available literature make standardization, replicability, and interpretation of results difficult. The aim of the present report is to provide a comprehensive CERT (Consensus on Exercise Reporting Template)-based description of the rationale and details of the land- and water-based EP implemented in the al-Ándalus Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT). Methods Women aged 35-65 with fibromyalgia (n=180) were planned to be recruited in Southern Spain (Andalucía). The study design was composed of three groups: the usual care (control) group, the land- and the water-based supervised exercise intervention groups (n=60 for each group). Participants allocated in the exercise intervention groups undertook a 24-week supervised multicomponent (strength, aerobic and flexibility) EP (three non-consecutive sessions per week, 45-60 min/session). The rationale of the exercise program is described in detail following the CERT criteria detailing its 16 key items. Discussion This study details the supervised EP of the al-Ándalus RCT project, which may serve: 1) exercise professionals who would like to implement an evidence-based supervised EP for people with fibromyalgia in land- and water-based settings, and 2) as an example of the application of the CERT criteria. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT01490281