De Vera Martín, Antonio, Salazar, Alberto Díaz, Pérez, Isidro Miguel Martín et al. · International journal of exercise science · 2025 · DOI
This review examined whether exercise-based treatments help people with ME/CFS feel less tired and function better. Researchers looked at 7 high-quality studies involving 2,276 patients and found that exercise did reduce fatigue in the short to medium term (up to several months). However, improvements in daily functioning were modest and did not last long-term, and some measures actually favored control groups over exercise interventions.
This meta-analysis provides the most current synthesis of exercise effectiveness for ME/CFS, a highly debated topic where patients report exercise can worsen symptoms. The findings help clarify which patients might benefit from exercise in the short-medium term and highlight critical gaps in long-term evidence, informing clinical decision-making and future research priorities.
This study does not establish that exercise is universally safe or beneficial for all ME/CFS patients, as it does not address post-exertional malaise (PEM) or individual heterogeneity in responses. The lack of long-term data means we cannot conclude whether early fatigue improvements persist or whether sustained exercise remains beneficial beyond medium-term follow-up. The transient nature of gains does not prove exercise is ineffective long-term, only that current evidence lacks sufficient follow-up duration.
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
De Vera Martín, Antonio, Salazar, Alberto Díaz, Pérez, Isidro Miguel Martín, & Pérez, Sebastián Eustaquio Martín (2025). Effectiveness of Exercise-Based Rehabilitation in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.. International journal of exercise science. https://doi.org/10.70252/DAYA4589
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-de-vera-martn-2025-effectiveness-exercise,
author = {De Vera Martín, Antonio and Salazar, Alberto Díaz and Pérez, Isidro Miguel Martín and Pérez, Sebastián Eustaquio Martín},
title = {Effectiveness of Exercise-Based Rehabilitation in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.},
journal = {International journal of exercise science},
year = {2025},
doi = {10.70252/DAYA4589},
note = {PubMed: 40485841},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/de-vera-martn-2025-effectiveness-exercise},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-27. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/de-vera-martn-2025-effectiveness-exercise
Contribute
Private, reviewed by a human. Not a public comment thread.