Acute Effects of Thirty Minutes of Light-Intensity, Intermittent Exercise on Patients With Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Abstract

Background and Purpose. Currently, there is no consensus on exercise prescription for patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). This investigation examined whether light-intensity, intermittent physical activity exacerbated symptoms in patients with CFS immediately following exercise to 7 days following exercise. Subjects. Subjects were 9 women (mean ageϭ44.2 years, SDϭ8.4, rangeϭ29-56; mean weightϭ74.2 kg, SDϭ18.8, rangeϭ56.36-110.91; and mean heightϭ1.63 m, SDϭ0.8, rangeϭ1.55-1.78) and 1 man (ageϭ48 years, weightϭ97.1 kg, and heightϭ1.98 m) who met the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's criteria for CFS. Methods. Subjects performed 10 discontinuous 3-minute exercise bouts (separated by 3 minutes of recovery) at a self-selected, comfortable walking pace on a treadmill. Oxygen consumption, minute ventilation, respiratory exchange ratio, and heart rate were measured every minute during the exercise session. To assess degree of disability, general health status, activity level, symptoms, and mood, subjects completed various questionnaires before and after exercise. Results. Results indicated that degree of disability, general health status, symptoms, and mood did not change immediately and up to 7 days following exercise. Conclusion and Discussion. Thirty minutes of intermittent walking did not exacerbate symptoms in subjects with CFS. The physiological data did not show any abnormal response to exercise. Although this study did not determine whether 30 minutes of continuous versus intermittent exercise would exacerbate symptoms, all 10 subjects felt that they could not exercise continuously for 30 minutes without experiencing symptom exacerbation. Despite this limitation, the results indicate that some individuals with CFS may be able to use low-level, intermittent exercise without exacerbating their symptoms. [Clapp LL, Richardson MT, Smith JF, et al. Acute effects of thirty minutes of light-intensity, intermittent exercise on patients with chronic fatigue syndrome. Phys Ther. 1999;79:749-756.]

Pain inhibition and postexertional malaise in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome: An experimental study

“…If postexertional malaise is caused by insufficient activation of the pain inhibitory systems during exercise, further research into the possible contributing factors is required. Indeed, it has been reported that ME/CFS patients are able to perform light to moderate exercise (40% of peak oxygen capacity) without exacerbating their symptoms [11–13]. If the exacerbation of symptoms following physical exertion is related to the intensity and duration of attempted activities, it would be valuable to examine different types of exercise.…”

Chronic musculoskeletal pain in patients with the chronic fatigue syndrome: A systematic review

“…However it should be considered that the high frequency of pain in persons with CFS may be due, in part, to the inclusion of myalgias and arthralgias as two of the minor symptoms in the diagnostic criteria following the CDC (Fukuda et al, 1994). Besides the persistent musculoskeletal pain, CFS patients typically experience an exacerbation of their symptoms, after previously well‐tolerated levels of exercise (Fukuda et al, 1994; Clapp et al, 1999). They experience muscle pain after a level of exertion that does not cause any tissue damage.…”

Chronic fatigue syndrome

“…The behavioural component encourages planned and supervised resumption of appropriate physical and mental tasks. A physical activity program is individually designed to take account of the patient's current level of disability 467 , 468 . After a prolonged period of illness and inactivity, new activities are introduced gradually and, most importantly, are “paced” (ie, scheduled to stop before they produce a significant exacerbation of symptoms).…”