Khanpour Ardestani, Samaneh, Karkhaneh, Mohammad, Stein, Eleanor et al. · Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2021 · DOI
Researchers looked at 12 studies examining whether mind-body techniques like meditation, yoga, and relaxation exercises could help ME/CFS symptoms. Most studies found these techniques improved fatigue, anxiety, and depression, and helped people feel better overall. However, the studies were small and used different methods, so we need more research to know how well these treatments really work.
This review synthesizes current evidence on mind-body approaches for ME/CFS, a condition with limited treatment options. Understanding which non-pharmacological interventions may help fatigue and psychological symptoms could offer patients additional self-management tools alongside standard care.
This review does not establish that mind-body interventions are definitively effective for ME/CFS, nor does it prove they address the underlying biological mechanisms of the disease. The quality and bias concerns mean we cannot yet be confident these benefits are real rather than due to placebo effects or study limitations. The review also does not establish whether these interventions might worsen post-exertional malaise for some patients.
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
Khanpour Ardestani, Samaneh, Karkhaneh, Mohammad, Stein, Eleanor, Punja, Salima, Junqueira, Daniela R, Kuzmyn, Tatiana, et al. (2021). Systematic Review of Mind-Body Interventions to Treat Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.. Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania). https://doi.org/10.3390/medicina57070652
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-khanpour-ardestani-2021-systematic-review,
author = {Khanpour Ardestani, Samaneh and Karkhaneh, Mohammad and Stein, Eleanor and Punja, Salima and Junqueira, Daniela R and Kuzmyn, Tatiana and Pearson, Michelle and Smith, Laurie and Olson, Karin and Vohra, Sunita},
title = {Systematic Review of Mind-Body Interventions to Treat Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.},
journal = {Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania)},
year = {2021},
doi = {10.3390/medicina57070652},
note = {PubMed: 34202826},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/khanpour-ardestani-2021-systematic-review},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-26. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/khanpour-ardestani-2021-systematic-review
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