Liu, Huanle, Chen, Huan, Bai, Dingxi et al. · Holistic nursing practice · 2025 · DOI
This study reviewed evidence about Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) nursing techniques that may help people with ME/CFS. The researchers looked at 12 high-quality studies and identified 27 pieces of evidence about different TCM approaches, including massage at specific body points, gentle exercises, music therapy, dietary changes, acupuncture, and herbal patches applied to the skin. The goal was to help nurses and healthcare providers choose safe and effective TCM treatments tailored to each patient's needs.
This systematic synthesis addresses a significant gap in evidence-based TCM nursing care for ME/CFS, providing clinicians and nurses with an organized platform for integrating traditional approaches into clinical practice. For patients seeking non-pharmacological or complementary treatment options, this work identifies which TCM nursing interventions have documented evidence support. This research validates patient interest in traditional medicine approaches while establishing a framework for safer, more standardized implementation.
This evidence map does not establish the clinical efficacy or safety of individual TCM interventions—it aggregates existing evidence without performing meta-analysis or comparing outcomes between modalities. The review does not demonstrate that any of these TCM nursing techniques are superior to standard care or to each other in treating ME/CFS symptoms. The heterogeneity of included studies means conclusions about effectiveness remain preliminary pending higher-quality comparative trials.
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 →
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