EFT Tapping and Fibromyalgia: What Does the Research Say?

Fibromyalgia involves widespread, chronic pain and tenderness all over the body, and it often comes along with other symptoms like fatigue, sleep problems, memory issues, and more. With such challenging and debilitating symptoms like those, it isn’t surprising that fibromyalgia can take a major toll on people’s lives and impact their mental and emotional wellbeing in a big way.

It’s often hard for people to find a treatment plan and self-care strategy to manage their symptoms that works well for them and their unique body. So if you or someone you know is struggling with fibromyalgia, I want to make sure you know about a tool that can have really amazing results when it comes to this condition, Tapping.

There are countless anecdotal reports of Tapping (also known as EFT) helping people with fibromyalgia. In fact, I’ve heard from many, many people in our very own Tapping Solution community who have found EFT Tapping makes a real difference for them, helping them to better manage or even resolve their pain and other symptoms.

Today, I wanted to highlight some of the research on EFT and fibromyalgia, so you can learn more about the science behind this incredibly effective self-care tool.

The current evidence behind Tapping for fibromyalgia

Published research on Tapping specifically for fibromyalgia is limited to one small study.

It involved only six women with fibromyalgia. While the results were not considered "statistically significant," the author did note that the data indicated an overall improvement for the women who were treated with EFT.[1]

It's a small, early study, and more research on Tapping for fibromyalgia specifically is needed. But it points in the same direction as the broader body of Tapping research on chronic pain and the stress that comes with it.

Why is Tapping SO good for fibromyalgia?

Chronic pain conditions like fibromyalgia carry a heavy emotional and nervous-system load, and that's the piece Tapping is built to address. Calming the stress response can ease how much pain affects daily life, even when it doesn't erase the pain itself.

So the question is, why did Tapping have such great effects for the women with fibromyalgia who did daily Tapping? There are likely many different pathways in which EFT Tapping helps people with chronic pain conditions like fibromyalgia.

For example:

• Tapping releases stress, which is linked to chronic pain. Tapping is an effective way to help calm down our nervous system, which is extremely important when you suffer from chronic pain. Chronic stress and chronic pain are proven to be related. When you feel pain, it initiates the body’s stress response. And the stress response can also trigger physical pain, leading to a vicious cycle. Tapping works by sending calming signals to the brain, helping to turn down that stress response so we can move into a state of being that promotes healing. The less stressed and anxious we are, the less likely we are to have as much pain.

• Tapping helps us let go of pent-up emotions that can contribute to chronic pain. We all feel emotions; but when we don’t have a healthy way to release them from our bodies, they can manifest themselves as physical symptoms like pain. Tapping supports us in acknowledging and honoring ALL of our feelings so that we can release them and let them go to make room for greater peace, ease, balance, and health in our bodies.

• Tapping influences our physiology. Research has proven that Tapping produces physiological changes in the body, including reducing cortisol levels. It also has beneficial effects on the nervous system, cardiovascular system, endocrine system, and immune system.[2-4] These physiological changes can have positive impacts when it comes to pain and conditions like fibromyalgia.

You can learn more about how Tapping can help with pain relief here. 

Tapping for fibromyalgia relief, getting started for yourself

There are many different angles from which Tapping may support those with fibromyalgia. 

From helping people to accept their pain, to calming their brain and bodies down, EFT Tapping has tremendous potential to support people with conditions like fibromyalgia and other chronic pain syndromes to not just reduce their pain, but to boost their wellbeing and feel more powerful in their lives as well.

If you or someone you know has fibromyalgia, Tapping is well worth a try. It has helped so many people feel better and feel more empowered to live well and thrive despite their fibromyalgia diagnosis. And it is backed up by scientific evidence, too!

I get so excited each time I hear a positive success story of someone finding relief from physical symptoms, chronic pain, and conditions like fibromyalgia after trying Tapping. It is amazing to hear these stories of transformation!

If you are looking for support for fibromyalgia and are open to exploring the power of Tapping, here are some resources we have available that you might find helpful:

• 5-Day Creating Lasting Pain Relief Series
• A Tapping Meditation to Release Frustration and Overwhelm from Physical Pain
• The Tapping Solution for Pain Relief book
• Our many Tapping meditations in The Tapping Solution App, including:

  • “Release Fibromyalgia Pain”
  • “Release General Pain”
  • “Freedom from a Diagnosis”
  • “Increase Your Mobility”

And if you are completely brand new to Tapping, learn more about the Tapping process here and the Tapping points here.

As always, take care and keep Tapping!

Until next time, 

Nick Ortner

References

1. Connais C. The effectiveness of emotional freedom technique on the somatic symptoms of fibromyalgia. University of the Rockies, Denver, CO. 2009. Doctoral dissertation, 3372777.
2. Bach D, Groesbeck G, Stapleton P, Sims R, Blickheuser K, Church D. Clinical EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) Improves Multiple Physiological Markers of Health. J Evid Based Integr Med. 2019;24:2515690X18823691. doi:10.1177/2515690X18823691
3. Church D, Yount G, Brooks AJ. The effect of emotional freedom techniques on stress biochemistry: a randomized controlled trial. J Nerv Ment Dis. 2012;200(10):891-896.
4. Stapleton P, Crighton G, Sabot D, O'Neill HM. Reexamining the effect of emotional freedom techniques on stress biochemistry: A randomized controlled trial. Psychol Trauma. 2020;12(8):869-877.