Broadbent, Suzanne, Coetzee, Sonja, Calder, Angela et al. · European journal of applied physiology · 2025 · DOI
This study tested whether gentle water-based exercise could help people with ME/CFS. Thirty-two people were split into two groups: one did 20-minute water exercise sessions twice a week for 6 months, while the other group didn't exercise. The exercise group improved their walking distance, leg strength, and reported less fatigue and depression, without experiencing any symptom flare-ups or harm.
Most ME/CFS patients avoid exercise due to fear of symptom worsening, making this study important because it demonstrates that carefully controlled, self-paced aquatic exercise can be safe and beneficial. The improvements in both physical function and mental health suggest a non-pharmacological approach that addresses multiple dimensions of ME/CFS burden. These findings may help reshape clinical guidance around activity management in ME/CFS.
This study does not prove that aquatic exercise works for all ME/CFS patients or is superior to other interventions, as it lacks comparison groups using different exercise modalities. It cannot establish optimal exercise duration or intensity beyond the tested protocol, nor whether benefits persist long-term after the intervention ends. The small sample size and specific patient characteristics limit generalizability to the broader ME/CFS population.
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 →
The first block is for the primary paper and is the citation you should use in research work. The atlas-snapshot line only applies if you are specifically referring to this atlas’s reading of the paper on the date shown.
Primary citation
Broadbent, Suzanne, Coetzee, Sonja, Calder, Angela, & Beavers, Rosalind (2025). Physical function and psychosocial outcomes after a 6-month self-paced aquatic exercise program for individuals with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome.. European journal of applied physiology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-025-05759-5
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-broadbent-2025-physical-function,
author = {Broadbent, Suzanne and Coetzee, Sonja and Calder, Angela and Beavers, Rosalind},
title = {Physical function and psychosocial outcomes after a 6-month self-paced aquatic exercise program for individuals with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome.},
journal = {European journal of applied physiology},
year = {2025},
doi = {10.1007/s00421-025-05759-5},
note = {PubMed: 40186656},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/broadbent-2025-physical-function},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-29. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/broadbent-2025-physical-function
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