By David Tuller, DrPH
According to the headline of a recent article in The Sick Times, “less than 20% of Long COVID trials involving exercise even mention post-exertional malaise.” The news organization analyzed the registration records for Long COVID clinical trials and found that only a small minority assess or take into account post-exertional malaise (PEM), the defining characteristic of ME/CFS. Many people with Long COVID—the proportion is debated—experience PEM and qualify for ME/CFS diagnoses. For these patients, exercise programs, and especially those focused on gradually increasing activity levels, can be contra-indicated.
The author of the Sick Times piece, Toronto journalist Simon Spichak, has an MSc in neuroscience. He is the founder of a low-cost online therapy clinic for students called Resolvve and runs a newsletter about underreported health and disability issues in Canada. I recently spoke with him about the story.