Sly Saint
Senior Member (Voting Rights)
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) / Myalgic Encephalopathy (ME) and Physiotherapy: Information leaflet
pdf link here:
https://www.ekhuft.nhs.uk/patients-...ts-childrens-physiotherapy/?entryid103=440305
@PhysiosforME
pdf link here:
https://www.ekhuft.nhs.uk/patients-...ts-childrens-physiotherapy/?entryid103=440305
This leaflet is for young adults with CFS/ME and their parents. It aims to help you understand the role of the physiotherapist and how they can help you with the symptoms of your chronic fatigue.
How does physiotherapy help people with CFS/ME?
The aim of physiotherapy is to provide support and advice on how to manage your symptoms of chronic fatigue, so that you can start getting back to doing all the things you used to enjoy, such as meeting up with your friends, going on sleep overs, and playing sport again. Physiotherapy aims to help people make changes that make you feel physically better. It will also look at ways of maintaining these changes and dealing with any setbacks.
For all activities you need a certain level of strength, fitness, and endurance. Young people with CFS/ME can often struggle to maintain their usual levels of activities and exercise. Their strength and fitness are often reduced and they find taking part in their day to day activities tiring. Routine is the key to success and eliminating any boom and bust pattern is important to kick start this process.
There are different types of activity that will be discussed.
• General activities are things you do as part of daily life, such as going to school and shopping, walking around the house, doing chores (taking out the bins or tidying your room), and seeing friends.
• Aerobic exercise is an activity that increases your heart rate and makes you feel breathless.
This is a good thing! Research has shown that a gradual increase in this type of activity can help people recover from CFS. Aerobic exercise includes swimming, cycling, fast walking, or jogging as well as some light competitive sports.
• Mental activities refers to an activity that uses concentration and memory, for example school work, being on your iPad and your phone!
Feeling strange or having different symptoms is normal when you start a new activity or
exercise. Your skin may go red, you may feel tired, your body and muscles may feel like jelly
or stiff when you finish. This is quite normal. Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS) is a
common effect for all people when they increase their exercise or activity level. As with all
illnesses, physical and emotional factors affect recovery.
@PhysiosforME
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