Galeoto, G, Sansoni, J, Valenti, D et al. · La Clinica terapeutica · 2018 · DOI
This review looked at four high-quality studies to understand how physical therapy might help people with ME/CFS feel less tired and function better. The researchers found that programs combining exercise, stretching, and body awareness techniques showed the most promise for reducing fatigue over medium and long-term periods. However, because there were very few studies to examine, the authors couldn't definitively say which treatment works best for everyone.
ME/CFS lacks well-established treatment guidelines, and fatigue remains the primary disabling symptom. This systematic review synthesizes the best available evidence on physiotherapy interventions, providing both patients and clinicians with a structured overview of what structured rehabilitation approaches show promise. It highlights the need for larger, well-designed trials to establish optimal treatment protocols.
This review does not prove that any single physiotherapy approach is universally superior or definitively effective for all ME/CFS patients. The small number of included studies (n=4) and acknowledged heterogeneity mean findings cannot be reliably generalized to the broader ME/CFS population. The review does not establish the optimal intensity, duration, or individualized patient characteristics that predict treatment response.
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
Galeoto, G, Sansoni, J, Valenti, D, Mollica, R, Valente, D, Parente, M, et al. (2018). The effect of physiotherapy on fatigue and physical functioning in chronic fatigue syndrome patients: A systematic review.. La Clinica terapeutica. https://doi.org/10.7417/T.2018.2076
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-galeoto-2018-effect-physiotherapy,
author = {Galeoto, G and Sansoni, J and Valenti, D and Mollica, R and Valente, D and Parente, M and Servadio, A},
title = {The effect of physiotherapy on fatigue and physical functioning in chronic fatigue syndrome patients: A systematic review.},
journal = {La Clinica terapeutica},
year = {2018},
doi = {10.7417/T.2018.2076},
note = {PubMed: 30151552},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/galeoto-2018-effect-physiotherapy},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-29. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/galeoto-2018-effect-physiotherapy
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