exercise & fatigue

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A prominent complaint in CFS is that even minimal

physical exertion produces a major flare-up of

symptoms producing more marked limitations in

activity. To evaluate this, Dr. Sisto and her colleagues

measured the activity level of 20 CFS patients and

compared it to 20 healthy

sedentary controls both before and after strenuous

physical exercise. Participants wore a waist activity

monitor about the size of a calculator on a waist belt

during the day. After 7 days, participants performed a

treadmill exercise test which consisted of a progressive

ramping of the treadmill speed and grade until

exhaustion.

Surprisingly, neither total daily activity nor duration of

rest periods changed following maximal treadmill testing

in the CFS participants. So, it does not appear that

physical exertion worsens fatigue one to two days later.

Instead, the decrease in activity occurred 4-6 days after

exertion. One possible explanation for this is that

strenuous exercise disrupts sleep in CFS patients, an

effect which may accumulate over days leading to the

delayed appearance of increased fatigue.

For more information concerning this study, please

review Sisto, SA, Tapp, WN, LaManca, JJ, Ling, W,

Korn, LR, , AJ, & Natelson, BH Physical

activity before and after exercise in women with

chronic fatigue syndrome Quarterly Journal of

Medicine, 91: 465-473, 1998.

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