Chronic fatigue flares up with mild exercise

AN AMERICAN study has found that chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) symptoms can flare up following mild to moderate strain to muscles and nerves.

Researchers from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, in the US, studied 80 people aged between 16 and 55 years; 60 of whom were diagnosed as CFS sufferers and the remaining 20 as healthy individuals.

The participants were periodically asked to evaluate levels of fatigue, body pain, and the severity of other symptoms of the condition, such as lightheadedness, concentration difficulties and headaches.

Participants were asked to lie on their backs and report their symptoms every five minutes during a 15-minute period of passive supine straight-leg raise exercises – raising and holding one of the participant’s legs to create a slight level of muscle and nerve strain.

Those suffering from CFS reported significantly increased body pain and concentration difficulties during the test.

After 24 hours, they reported greater intensity of their symptoms in general.

The researchers concluded that certain types of exercise and day-to-day activities could trigger flare-ups of CFS.

CFS has no known cause or treatment. Symptoms include extreme fatigue, headaches, concentration difficulties, muscle pain, memory trouble and sleep problems.

CFS is estimated to affect around 17 million people worldwide.

American research, published in February 2015 in Science Advances, defined the condition as “biological rather than psychological”, after discovering biomarkers – or ‘cytokines’ – in the blood of CFS patients during the first three years of illness.

These latest conclusions, published in PLoS ONE, suggest that muscle and nerve strain can cause CFS symptoms to intensify for up to 24 hours. – AFPRelaxnews