Background:Fibromyalgia syndrome is a chronic musculoskeletal disorder with a prevalence of 80-96% in women. Balance impairment, fear of falling, and kinesiophobia are important consequences of this disease, but heterogeneity in assessment tools and lack of consensus on mechanisms necessitate a systematic synthesis of findings. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate postural control, fear of falling, and kinesiophobia in women with fibromyalgia.

Methods:A comprehensive search of PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, PEDro and Google Scholar databases was conducted to search for grey literature from January 2005 to May 2025. Cross-sectional, comparative studies investigating balance, fear of falling or kinesiophobia in women with fibromyalgia were included. The methodological quality of the studies was assessed using the JBI checklist.

Findings:Of the initial 700 articles, 11 studies were included, with an age range of 18 to 89 years. Findings showed that women with fibromyalgia had poorer balance, higher fear of falling, and higher levels of kinesiophobia compared to healthy women. Impaired sensory integration (especially dependence on visual input), cervical and lower extremity proprioception deficits, and direct associations with pain intensity, fatigue, and psychological factors were observed.

Conclusion: Women with fibromyalgia have balance disorders, fear of falling and kinesiophobia. Comprehensive evaluation of these cases is necessary in rehabilitation and combined interventions (equilibrium, proprioceptive, cognitive-behavioral) are recommended to break the cycle of pain-fear-immobility. It is also suggested to use standard tools and longitudinal designs to confirm the causal relationships and explain the effective solutions to improve the quality of life of these patients.