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Subject: search.filters.subject.Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

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    A home that works for you, not against you : the therapeutic landscape of the home when homebound with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts (by thesis) in Psychology at Massey University, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2025) Philbrick, Jessica
    People living with ME/CFS often spend most of their time at home, either as a preventative measure to protect their limited energy levels, or due to symptom severity where they cannot leave the house. Despite varied experiences of being homebound, little investigation has been done into the lived experiences of how the home supports their ME/CFS management. This project utilised the therapeutic landscapes framework to explore the built, natural, social, and symbolic elements of the home for people with ME/CFS. The aim was to see how participants made their home work synergistically to foster a therapeutic environment. Photo elicitation semi-structured interview were used to gain experiential insight into how they adapted and experienced their homes as therapeutic in relation to their ME/CFS management. Five Aotearoa based participants with ME/CFS took part. The findings mapped onto the four therapeutic landscapes domains as: sectioning the home, simplifying the environment, symbolic and practical role of nature, and enriching their world. Their contributions created rich insight into how their homes are symptom responsive, provides places of both rest and activity, enriches their lives, encourages participation in hobbies, is a place of safety and comfort, and is an environment which works for them and not against them. Participant contributions were additionally illustrated through researcher-made response paintings as a means of representing experiences beyond words. This project contributes to knowledge on therapeutic landscape literature alongside valuable insight into the lives of people with ME/CFS.
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    Effects of Post-Exertional Malaise on Markers of Arterial Stiffness in Individuals with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
    (MDPI (Basel, Switzerland), 2021-03) Bond J; Nielsen T; Hodges L
    Background: Evidence is emerging that individuals with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) may suffer from chronic vascular dysfunction as a result of illness-related oxidative stress and vascular inflammation. The study aimed to examine the impact of maximal-intensity aerobic exercise on vascular function 48 and 72 h into recovery. Methods: ME/CFS (n = 11) with gender and age-matched controls (n = 11) were randomly assigned to either a 48 h or 72 h protocol. Each participant had measures of brachial blood pressure, augmentation index (AIx75, standardized to 75 bpm) and carotid-radial pulse wave velocity (crPWV) taken. This was followed by a maximal incremental cycle exercise test. Resting measures were repeated 48 or 72 h later (depending on group allocation). Results: No significant differences were found when ME/CFS were directly compared to controls at baseline. During recovery, the 48 h control group experienced a significant 7.2% reduction in AIx75 from baseline measures (p < 0.05), while the matched ME/CFS experienced no change in AIx75. The 72 h ME/CFS group experienced a non-significant increase of 1.4% from baseline measures. The 48 h and 72 h ME/CFS groups both experienced non-significant improvements in crPWV (0.56 ms−1 and 1.55 ms−1, respectively). Conclusions: The findings suggest that those with ME/CFS may not experience exercise-induced vasodilation due to chronic vascular damage, which may be a contributor to the onset of post-exertional malaise (PEM).