The use of a symptom "self-report" inventory to evaluate the acceptability and efficacy of a walking program for patients suffering with chronic fatigue syndrome.

OBJECTIVES

The purpose of this research was to evaluate the effectiveness of the modality of walking as a management strategy for patients suffering with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS).

METHODS

Six males and fourteen females with medically diagnosed CFS (CDC, 1994), completed a 12-week walking program. Prior to starting the program subjects underwent an incremental walking exercise test to predetermine their walking intensity. The SCL-90-R symptom "self-report" questionnaire was administered prior to, and at the completion of, the walking program.

RESULTS

At the completion of the 12 weeks of walking, changes in four of the nine SCL-90-R dimensions were significant (somatisation, paranoid ideation, phobic anxiety, and psychoticism). Also significant were the changes in the combination indices, the Global Indices of Distress (GID) and the Positive Symptom Total (PST).

CONCLUSION

This group of CFS subjects, by way of "self-report", indicated the possibility of an exercise-induced decrease in psychological stress. The walking intervention may have evoked positive changes in their well-being and, furthermore, provided no evidence of any exacerbation in their symptoms.