Juan Antonio Micó 2025 Award Recognizes Research on the Effectiveness of the FIBROWALK Multicomponent Program for People with Fibromyalgia
The study, recognized with the Juan Antonio Micó 2025 Award, demonstrates the effectiveness of the multicomponent FIBROWALK program in reducing fibromyalgia severity and provides evidence supporting accessible and scalable interventions for the management of chronic pain.
Researchers Albert Feliu-Soler (Principal Investigator of the study), Estíbaliz Royuela-Colomer, and Juan Vicente Luciano, from the Department of Clinical and Health Psychology at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), have received the Juan Antonio Micó 2025 Award for the best scientific publication in the field of pain research. The prestigious award, granted by Fundación Grünenthal España and the Spanish Pain Society (SED), was presented during the 22nd Spanish Pain Society Congress, held in Vitoria-Gasteiz from May 29 to 31, 2026.
This work is the result of close collaboration between clinical teams and researchers from several institutions. Particularly noteworthy is the contribution of the Central Sensitization Syndromes Unit at Vall d'Hebron University Hospital, with the participation of Dr. Mayte Serrat and Dr. Míriam Almirall. Dr. Serrat, the study's first author and co-principal investigator, also developed the FIBROWALK intervention evaluated in this clinical trial. The research involved investigators from UAB, Vall d'Hebron University Hospital, Parc Sanitari Sant Joan de Déu, CIBERESP, the Gimbernat University Schools, and several international collaborators.
The award recognizes the article “Effectiveness of the FIBROWALK Multicomponent Therapy in Online and Outdoor Formats for Fibromyalgia: A Randomized Controlled Trial (The On&Out Study)”, published in The Journal of Pain. The study evaluates the effectiveness of FIBROWALK, an innovative intervention designed for people with fibromyalgia that combines pain neuroscience education, therapeutic exercise, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and mindfulness to promote a comprehensive approach to fibromyalgia management.
The study compared two delivery formats of the FIBROWALK program—an online version (FIBRO-On) and an outdoor version (FIBRO-Out)—against usual care. A total of 225 individuals with fibromyalgia were randomly assigned to one of the three conditions over a twelve-week intervention period.
The findings showed that both FIBROWALK formats were more effective than usual care in reducing fibromyalgia severity at the end of treatment. Furthermore, the online format maintained significant benefits at the six-month follow-up, reinforcing the potential of this type of intervention to expand access to evidence-based treatments in a scalable and potentially cost-effective manner.
The study also found that reductions in psychological inflexibility and kinesiophobia—the fear of movement associated with pain—may partly explain the observed benefits. These findings provide valuable, although still emerging, insights for the development of future psychological interventions for people living with fibromyalgia.
This research is part of an ongoing research line focused on the development and evaluation of innovative, evidence-based interventions for fibromyalgia and other chronic pain conditions. Further information about the study and its findings can be found in the full article published in The Journal of Pain.
The authors acknowledge the support of the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities through its Research Challenges Program, whose funding made this project possible. They also wish to express their special gratitude to all individuals with fibromyalgia who participated in the study. Their trust, commitment, and generosity make it possible to advance clinical research and develop increasingly effective treatments tailored to the real needs of people living with fibromyalgia.