Investigation of the Clinical Application of Aromatherapy in the Treatment of Fibromyalgia Patients

Objective/background: This study aimed to determine the effects of aromatherapy on the autonomic nervous system and stress reduction in patients with fibromyalgia. Currently, there is no established treatment for the mental anxiety and stress associated with fibromyalgia, and aromatherapy has not been used in clinical practice for this purpose. This clinical study utilized macadamia nut oil as a control to evaluate the effects of aromatherapy on the autonomic nervous system and stress reduction. Methods: Geranium (Pelargonium graveolens) essential oil (EOPG) was used in a crossover study for each treatment period of 3 months. Ten patients were enrolled and divided into two groups. In the CI group, aromatherapy using macadamia nut oil was performed first, and 1% EOPG was used later. In the IC group, we reversed the oil order used for aromatherapy. Patients were asked to answer the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory at each return, and samples were taken for stress markers (cortisol and chromogranin A). Results and discussion: Patients’ blood pressure and heart rate were measured before and after aromatherapy. Diastolic blood pressure increased significantly in the control group (P = .02), but the change was suppressed in the EOPG group ( P = .11). Heart rate significantly decreased after aromatherapy in both treatments ( P < .001). Among stress markers measured in saliva, a transient increase of cortisol in the control treatment was suppressed in the EOPG. There was no significant difference in CgA in both treatments. From these observations, we speculated that the vasodilating effects of the constituents contained in EOPG may have prevented the increase in diastolic blood pressure after aromatherapy partly due to stress-relieving effects of EOPG. Conclusion: We conclude that aromatherapy with EOPG reduced the increase in diastolic blood pressure, suggesting that the therapy reduces the stress of patients with fibromyalgia.