Matsui, Takayoshi, Hara, Kazuhiro, Iwata, Makoto et al. · BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2021 · DOI
This study looked at 1,226 hospitalized ME/CFS patients who received daily physical therapy focused on neck muscles. About 55% of patients recovered from ME/CFS after this treatment, and those who recovered showed changes in pupil size suggesting their nervous system function improved. The findings suggest that neck muscle problems and nervous system dysfunction may be connected in ME/CFS.
This study provides evidence that ME/CFS may involve autonomic nervous system dysfunction in cervical muscles, offering a potential mechanistic insight into why some patients respond to localized treatment. The moderate recovery rate and detailed symptom tracking could inform rehabilitation approaches for hospitalized ME/CFS patients.
This observational study does not prove that cervical muscle dysfunction causes ME/CFS, only that treatment correlated with recovery in this specific hospitalized population. The study cannot determine whether pupil changes cause recovery or are a marker of recovery. Results may not apply to ambulatory or less severe ME/CFS patients, as participants were treatment-resistant inpatients.
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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