Ribeiro, Vânia, Azevedo, Paulo, Westermeier, Francisco et al. · Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2026 · DOI
Researchers in Portugal tested whether a pacing program could help people with ME/CFS manage their symptoms over 8 weeks. Pacing teaches patients to balance their daily activities based on their available energy. Thirteen patients participated, most attended the sessions regularly, and both fatigue and physical functioning showed improvements after the program.
This study demonstrates that pacing interventions are feasible and acceptable in a country where ME/CFS is poorly recognized, potentially opening pathways for symptom management strategies in under-resourced healthcare settings. The observed improvements in fatigue and physical functioning suggest pacing may offer practical benefit, though evidence-based options for ME/CFS remain limited globally.
This pilot study cannot establish that pacing causes improvements in fatigue or physical functioning because there is no control group—improvements could reflect placebo effects, natural variation, or other concurrent factors. The small sample size and short follow-up period mean results cannot be generalized to all ME/CFS populations. Long-term sustainability and comparative effectiveness versus other interventions remain unknown.
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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