Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Exercise

(asked on 3rd November 2021) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he plans to take to ensure that medical practitioners cease to recommend graded exercise therapy to myalgic encephalomyelitis and chronic fatigue syndrome patients following the publication of the updated NICE guidelines on myalgic encephalomyelitis and chronic fatigue syndrome.


Answered by
Edward Argar Portrait
Edward Argar
Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
This question was answered on 11th November 2021

The Department has made no assessment. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body responsible for developing authoritative, evidence-based guidance for the health and care system. NICE published its updated guideline on the diagnosis and management of myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) on 29 October. The updated guideline does not recommend the use of graded exercise therapy in the management of ME/CFS. NICE’s full guidance is available at the following link:

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng206

NICE’s guideline describe best practice and should be taken fully into account in the care and treatment of individual patients. However, it is not mandatory and do not override a medical practitioner’s clinical judgement.

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