The Feldenkrais4Life Action A4 pilots were designed around a shared conviction: fibromyalgia and chronic pain cannot be effectively addressed through single, isolated interventions. These conditions require approaches that integrate medical knowledge, embodied learning and the lived experience of patients, while also fostering dialogue and mutual understanding between professionals.
Both the Italian and German pilots were built on this common framework, yet they unfolded in very different healthcare and institutional contexts. Together, they offer complementary insights into the potential and the challenges of joint, interdisciplinary training.
The Italian pilot represented the first full-scale implementation of the model. It involved people with fibromyalgia, physicians from different specialties and Feldenkrais teachers working within a well-established clinical and associative network. The results were encouraging. Patients reported meaningful improvements in several areas of daily life, including reduced stress and anxiety, increased energy levels and greater body awareness. Many participants described feeling more actively involved in their own care and better equipped to manage chronicity. Almost all considered the experience enriching, not only physically but also emotionally.
Equally important were the effects observed among healthcare professionals. Direct participation in the Feldenkrais sessions led some physicians to reconsider their initial assumptions about movement, shifting from a corrective, performance-oriented perspective toward a more educational and experiential understanding. This change did not emerge from theory alone, but from embodied experience and shared practice, highlighting the importance of learning through doing.
The German pilot, conducted in a more constrained healthcare environment, served primarily as a feasibility and adaptability test. Recruiting physicians proved difficult due to structural and institutional barriers, and the programme relied largely on internal professional resources. Despite these limitations, participants reported consistent positive changes, particularly in stress regulation, physical condition and confidence in coping with chronic pain. Many described a stronger sense of agency and a more active role in managing their condition. For Feldenkrais practitioners, the pilot strengthened professional identity and reinforced the value of their work in chronic pain contexts.
When viewed together, the two pilots tell a coherent story. The Italian experience demonstrates clinical effectiveness and methodological maturity in a supportive ecosystem, while the German experience confirms that the model remains meaningful and impactful even in less receptive contexts. Although the evaluation strategies differed, the direction of the results converged, pointing toward the same core mechanisms: embodied learning, attention to self-awareness and interdisciplinary dialogue.
At the same time, both pilots highlighted important challenges. Interdisciplinary integration is not automatic. It requires time, facilitation and a willingness to navigate differences in language, expectations and professional culture. Organisational demands were high, and long-term follow-up data are still needed to better understand the durability of the observed effects. In contexts like Germany, institutional recognition and regulatory alignment remain key issues for future development.
Overall, the Feldenkrais4Life Action A4 pilots suggest that joint training can become a usefull lever for integration in chronic pain care. The path is neither simple nor linear, but the results show that when professionals and patients learn together through experience, new and promising ways of understanding and managing chronic conditions can emerge.
