#ME_CFS

A new randomized controlled trial suggests that self-paced, low-to-moderate aquatic exercise can meaningfully improve physical function and mental well-being for people with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). The six-month study, led by a senior researcher from a regional university in Australia, enrolled 32 adults around age 55 and compared a water-based program to usual activities. The findings offer a cautious path forward for exercise recommendations in ME/CFS, a condition long approached with rest due to concerns about post-exertional malaise (PEM).

A recent breakthrough study suggests that low- to moderate-intensity aquatic exercise can significantly improve both physical and psychosocial well-being in people living with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), bringing new hope for a condition often marked by persistent fatigue and limited treatment options. Published on April 17, 2025, and led by Dr. Suzanne Broadbent, Associate Professor of Clinical Exercise Physiology at the University of the Sunshine Coast, this randomized controlled trial (RCT) challenges the longstanding caution against physical activity for ME/CFS patients—a group that also includes a high proportion of those battling fibromyalgia symptoms.