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C F S  - Information International     
 

Exercise  and  CFS/ FM

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Exercise and FM

FM patients are not generally unfit but have an increased perception of exertion,  Nielens et al., 2000.  A decreased peak oxygen uptake indicate low fitness,  Valim et al., 2002.  A comprehensive review of 46 exercise studies in FM, jones.etal06.txt. Exercise capacity is not correlated with well-being, ayan.etal07.txt.

Patients with FM and/or CFS engage in less high-intensity physical activities than recorded for sedentary control subjects, kop.etal05.txt, kop.etal05.pdf.
 

Types of Exercise Recommended

Aerobic endurance exercise Meiworm et al., 2000.  FM-patients benefit from strength training in the same manner as healthy controls, Hakkinen et al., 2001 and  Hakkinen et al., 2001 (full paper).  Growth hormone response to strength training is normal in FM,  Hakkinen et al., 2002.

 

Whole body periodic acceleration can be applied separately or supplementary to aerobic exercise in the treatment of FM and CFS (hypothesis), sackner.etal04.txt,  sackner.etal04.pdf.

 

Exercise in FM - Specific Studies

The effect of a 24-wk walking program,  Meyer & Lemley, 2000, and pool exercise Mannerkorpi et al., 2000  and  Jentoft et al., 2001.  A Dutch study compares two forms of aerobic fitness training,  van Santen et al., 2002,. Strength training is recommended,  Rooks et al., 2002.  A training program is recommended,  Karper et al., 2001.  The difference between muscle training and stretching is studied,  Jones et al., 2002,  and  Valim et al., 2003. Recommendations for individualized training,  Jones & Clark, 2002.  A Canadian study recommends combining training with education,  King et al., 2002.

A Cochrane review (= review of all valid publications on the subject) concluded that exercise may benefit FM, but studies on long-term benefits are lacking,  Busch et al., 2002. and busch.etal07.txt. Graded exercise under controlled circumstances,  Richards & Scott, 2002 (txt),   Richards & Scott, 2002 (pdf).  Responses, including one from Dr. Chaudhuri,  letters, Richards & Scott, 2002.

Pool exercise for FM had lasting effects,  Mannerkorpi et al., 2002.  A study on predictors of exercise behaviors,  Oliver & Cronan, 2002.  Drop out rates were accounted for in this study comparing various exercise programs,  Schachter et al., 2003.
Mood changes caused by exercise in FM are measured, 
Gowans et al., 2002.

Moderately intensive aerobic exercise is recommendable in FM, gowans.dehueck04.txt and that 6 and 12 months follow-up proved exercise beneficial, gowans.etal04.txt.  However, according to another study, exercise and CBT has only short term effects, absent at these intervals, redondo.etal04.txt.

6 months of treatment with pyridostigmine and triweekly exercise fails to improve Insulin-Like Growth Factor-I levels in FM, despite improvement in the AGH response to exercise, jones.etal07.txt.

 

Exercise and CFS

CFS status is not associated with deconditioning, schmaling.etal05.txt, schmaling.etal05.pdf. Premorbid exercise level was higher in CFS than controls, smith.etal06.txt, smith.etal.06.txt. CFS patients suffer symptom exacerbation following physical stress, stiles.etal07.txt. A single exercise test is insufficient to demonstrate functional impairment, vanness.etal06.txt.

 

After physically demanding exercise CFS subjects demonstrate impaired cognitive processing,  LaManca et al., 1998,. Cognitive deficits arise with exercise, van.ness.etal07.txt. Delayed recovery from fatiguing exercise,  Paul et al., 1999, and exercise lowers pain threshold in CFS, whiteside.etal04.txt, whiteside.etal04.pdf.  Physical symptoms worsened after several days delay in patients with CFS following exercise, while psychological symptoms or cognitive function did not change after exercise, yoshiuchi.etal07.txt, yoshiuchi.etal07.pdf.

 

A Japanese study found exercise harmful to CFS patients,  Ohashi et al., 2002.  The response of CFS patients to incremental exercise associates a lengthened and accentuated oxidative stress together with marked alterations of the muscle membrane excitability, jammes.etal05.txt, jammes.etal05.pdf. 

 

Belgian researchers have proposed that the reason for abnormal exercise response in CFS is intracellular immune deregulations, nijs.etal04.txt.  There may be a limit to exercise capacity in CFS, black.etal05.txt, black.etal05.pdf and black.mccully05.txt, black.mccully05.pdf. Physiological Responses to arm and leg exercise in women  with

CFS, javierre.etal07.txt, javierre.etal07.pdf.

 Powell et al., 2001  found exercise beneficial for patients diagnosed by the Oxford criteria.  The validity of this study has been questioned,  letter, Shepherd, BMJ, 2001.  Following this study came another - and again with patients diagnosed by Oxford criteria after 2 years follow-up, powell.etal04.txt, powell.etal04.pdf.  Health psychologists from New Zeeland recommend exercise despite they have high drop-out numbers, moss-morris.etal05.txt, moss-morris.etal05.pdf.

An Australian study found graded exercise beneficial compared to relaxation after 12 weeks follow-up, wallman.etal04.txt, wallman.etal04.pdf, editorial.lloyd04.txt.  The reliability of their test system, wallman.et.al.04.txt. These researchers believe in a psychological explanation for their findings, wallman.etal.04.txt,  wallman.etal.04.pdf. Exercise prescription, wallman.etal05.txt. The same psychologist explain how CFS patients have a higher sense of effort during a fatiguing exercise protocol, wallman.sacco07.txt.

A Belgian study found CFS-patients to have less exercise capacity than healthy sedentary controls,  de Becker et al., 2000,   de Becker et al., 2000 (full paper), while a Dutch study found CFS patients no more deconditioned than their neighbor controls,  Bazelmans et al., 2001,.  One study demonstrated differences in cardiovascular functioning in CFS compared to normal after incremental exercise,  Inbar et al., 2001.  A psychiatric study addressed the fear of exercise using the term "beliefs",  Silver et al, 2002.  Two New Jersey studies compared CFS patients' perceived exertion with their peak oxygen uptake during exercise,  Cook et al., 2003,   Cook et al., 2003 (pdf),   Cook et al., 2003,   Cook et al., 2003 (pdf).  These authors continued ‘results highlight the importance of disease heterogeneity in studies determining acute exercise and cognitive function in CFS’, cook.etal05.txt, cook.etal05.pdf. And cook.etal06.txt, cook.etal.06.txt, cook.etal06.pdf.  Exercise was carefully evaluated in one particular CFS patient,  Friedberg, 2003 (pdf).

An Australian research group found max oxygen uptake to be normal in CFS,  Sargent et al., 2002.  CFS patients had more abrupt interruptions of voluntary physical activity during diurnal periods in normal daily life possibly due to fatigue, ohashi.etal04.txt, ohashi.etal04.pdf.

Belgian studies found lack of association between pain-related fear of movement and exercise capacity and disability in CFS, nijs.etal.04.txt, and nijs.et.al.04.txt, nijs.etal04.pdf. Prediction of peak oxygen uptake in patients fulfilling the 1994 CDC criteria for CFS, nijs.demeirleir04.txt, nijs.demeirleir04.pdf. Exercise Performance Related to Immune Dysfunction, nijs.etal05.txt, nijs.etal05.pdf. Can submaximal exercise variables predict peak exercise performance in women with CFS? nijs.etal07.txt, nijs.etal.07.txt, nijs.etal07.pdf.

CFS patients do not suffer from exercise phobia, gallagher.etal05.txt, gallagher.etal05.pdf.

A Cochrane review concludes that exercise is not harmful in CFS, edmonds.etal04.txt, edmonds.etal04.pdf.  It is remarkable, however, that only 5 studies were included in this Cochrane review, and only one (!) study used CDC-defined CFS patients.  Dr. Lapp argues that this is a very poor Cochrane review which sends all the wrong messages, letter.cochrane.lapp04.txt.

Impact of a maximal exercise test on symptoms and activity in CFS, bazelmans.etal05.txt, bazelmans.etal05.pdf.

 

More evidence on exercise needed

The use of self-report inventory for evaluation of exercise is recommended,  Coutts et al., 2001.

UK-psychiatrists still recommend exercise for CFS without testing for cognitive functioning, they just conclude 'exercise makes CFS patients more fit',  Fulcher & White, 2000,   Fulcher & White, 2000 (full article).  Dr. Shepherd of the MEA, UK warns against this belief, since graded exercise was found detrimental to the majority of 2,300 ME/CFS patients asked in a 2001-survey,  Shepherd, 2001.  Some of the wrong beliefs held by psychiatrists can probably be explained by their tendency to extrapolate results obtained from healthy human beings.

Women with CFS respond differently in cardiovascular measures to stress than controls,  LaManca et al., 2001.  Maximal exercise testing found only small differences in CFS compared to normal,  Vanness et al., 2001, however, despite a common diagnosis, the functional capacity of CFS patients varies greatly,  Vanness et al., 2003,   Vannes et al., 2003 (pdf).

 


 
 

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