Li, Huanan, Wang, Jingui, Zhang, Wei et al. · Journal of traditional Chinese medicine = Chung i tsa chih ying wen pan · 2017
This study tested whether abdominal tuina (a traditional Chinese massage technique) could help people with chronic fatigue syndrome. Eighty patients were randomly assigned to receive either abdominal tuina or acupuncture once daily for 4 weeks. Both treatments improved fatigue, anxiety, and depression scores, but the abdominal tuina group showed slightly better improvements in fatigue and depression, with few side effects reported.
This study provides evidence that an accessible manual therapy technique may offer symptom relief for ME/CFS patients, particularly for fatigue and mood symptoms. Given the limited proven pharmacological treatments for ME/CFS, exploring traditional medicine approaches with rigorous methodology could expand treatment options for patients seeking non-drug interventions.
This study does not prove that abdominal tuina cures or reverses ME/CFS, as both groups improved over time and relapse rates were similar at follow-up. It does not establish whether improvements are due to the specific technique or to general effects of touch, attention, and expectation, as there was no true sham control group. The mechanism by which abdominal tuina might benefit CFS symptoms remains unclear.
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
Li, Huanan, Wang, Jingui, Zhang, Wei, Zhao, Na, Hai, Xinhua, Sun, Qing, et al. (2017). Chronic fatigue syndrome treated by the traditional Chinese procedure abdominal tuina: a randomized controlled clinical trial.. Journal of traditional Chinese medicine = Chung i tsa chih ying wen pan. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32188192/
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-li-2017-chronic-fatigue-2,
author = {Li, Huanan and Wang, Jingui and Zhang, Wei and Zhao, Na and Hai, Xinhua and Sun, Qing and Sun, Shiquan and Han, Yihao and Zhang, Runchen and Ma, Fei},
title = {Chronic fatigue syndrome treated by the traditional Chinese procedure abdominal tuina: a randomized controlled clinical trial.},
journal = {Journal of traditional Chinese medicine = Chung i tsa chih ying wen pan},
year = {2017},
note = {PubMed: 32188192},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/li-2017-chronic-fatigue-2},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-28. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/li-2017-chronic-fatigue-2
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