Rowe, Peter C, Marden, Colleen L, Flaherty, Marissa A K et al. · The Journal of pediatrics · 2018 · DOI
This study tracked how physical flexibility and movement changed in 53 young people with ME/CFS over two years while they received multimodal therapy. Researchers measured range of motion in 11 different body areas and found that most participants showed significant improvement—the proportion with abnormal movement patterns dropped from 78% to 20%. Importantly, improvements in flexibility were linked with improvements in physical quality of life.
Many ME/CFS patients experience reduced flexibility and movement limitations that affect daily functioning. This study provides evidence that ROM impairment is not permanent and can improve substantially over time with appropriate treatment, offering hope to patients and demonstrating that physical rehabilitation outcomes may be measurable and clinically meaningful in ME/CFS.
This study does not prove that any single therapy caused the ROM improvements, since participants received multimodal treatment and there was no control group. The correlation between ROM improvement and quality-of-life gains does not establish causation—both may have improved for independent reasons. The study also does not establish whether these improvements persist long-term beyond 24 months.
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
Rowe, Peter C, Marden, Colleen L, Flaherty, Marissa A K, Jasion, Samantha E, Cranston, Erica M, Fontaine, Kevin R, et al. (2018). Two-Year Follow-Up of Impaired Range of Motion in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.. The Journal of pediatrics. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpeds.2018.05.012
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-rowe-2018-two-year,
author = {Rowe, Peter C and Marden, Colleen L and Flaherty, Marissa A K and Jasion, Samantha E and Cranston, Erica M and Fontaine, Kevin R and Violand, Richard L},
title = {Two-Year Follow-Up of Impaired Range of Motion in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.},
journal = {The Journal of pediatrics},
year = {2018},
doi = {10.1016/j.jpeds.2018.05.012},
note = {PubMed: 29866593},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/rowe-2018-two-year},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-28. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/rowe-2018-two-year
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