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Background: Fibromyalgia is a chronic disease associated with musculoskeletal pain, painful tender points in areas of the body, fatigue, impaired physical function, and reduced quality of life.

Objectives: In the context of the revision of the medical guidelines for fibromyalgia in Germany, the aim of this work was to identify the evidence for the effects of Creative Arts Therapies (CATs) on people living with fibromyalgia and to evaluate the evidence through a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Methods: Following the PRISMA guidelines, we included controlled trials and systematic reviews from the selected databases, and evaluated the methodological quality using Cochrane's ROB2 tool and AMSTAR2. Included studies are discussed in a narrative review, and where possible, quantitative data was extracted and synthesized in a robust variance estimation (RVE) meta-analysis in R.

Results: Across the different endpoints measured in the studies, a moderate and statistically significant overall effect of the CATs was found in the assessment of fibromyalgia impact and pain. Other indicators in the areas of depression, anxiety, and quality of life are positive but were generally smaller.

Conclusion: The results suggest that CAT interventions can have a positive effect on people living with fibromyalgia and more robust research in this area is needed in the future.