Broadbent, Suzanne, Coutts, Rosanne · Medicine and science in sports and exercise · 2016 · DOI
This study tested whether two types of exercise programs—graded (gradually increasing intensity) and intermittent (alternating intense and easy periods)—could help improve immune system function in ME/CFS patients. Over 12 weeks, both exercise types led to increases in certain immune cells and improved fitness without making symptoms worse. Intermittent exercise appeared to work slightly better than graded exercise for boosting immune activation.
Immune dysfunction is a hallmark of ME/CFS, and understanding whether exercise can safely improve immune parameters without triggering symptom flares is crucial for developing evidence-based rehabilitation approaches. This study provides preliminary evidence that carefully designed exercise may modulate immune activation in ME/CFS without harm, challenging the assumption that all exercise is detrimental in this population.
This small pilot study does not prove that exercise is safe or beneficial as a primary treatment for all ME/CFS patients, nor does it establish that improved immune markers translate to better clinical outcomes or symptom relief. The study cannot distinguish whether immune changes are causally related to exercise or represent natural variation, and results may not generalize to ME/CFS patients with different disease severity or phenotypes. Long-term sustainability and safety of these exercise regimens remain unestablished.
About the PEM badge: “PEM required” means post-exertional malaise was an explicit required diagnostic criterion for participant inclusion in this study — not that PEM was studied, observed, or discussed. Studies using criteria that do not require PEM (e.g. Fukuda, Oxford) are tagged “PEM not required”. How the atlas works →
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Primary citation
Broadbent, Suzanne & Coutts, Rosanne (2016). Graded versus Intermittent Exercise Effects on Lymphocytes in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.. Medicine and science in sports and exercise. https://doi.org/10.1249/MSS.0000000000000957
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-broadbent-2016-graded-versus,
author = {Broadbent, Suzanne and Coutts, Rosanne},
title = {Graded versus Intermittent Exercise Effects on Lymphocytes in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.},
journal = {Medicine and science in sports and exercise},
year = {2016},
doi = {10.1249/MSS.0000000000000957},
note = {PubMed: 27116645},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/broadbent-2016-graded-versus},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-26. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/broadbent-2016-graded-versus
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