Pain in Motion Research Group, Department of Human Physiology and Physiotherapy, Faculty of Physical Education & Physiotherapy, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussel, Belgium; Pain in Motion Research Group, Division of Musculoskeletal Physiotherapy, Department of Health Care Sciences, Artesis University College Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium; Pain in Motion Research Group, Department of Physical Medicine and Physiotherapy, University Hospital Brussels, Brussels, Belgium.
Eur J Clin Invest. 2014 Feb;44(2):153-9. doi: 10.1111/eci.12201. Epub 2013 Dec 9.
Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) patients frequently complain of muscle fatigue and abnormally slow recovery, especially of the upper limb muscles during and after activities of daily living. Furthermore, disease heterogeneity has not yet been studied in relation to recovery of muscle function in CFS. Here, we examine recovery of upper limb muscle function from a fatiguing exercise in CFS patients with (CFS+FM) and without (CFS-only) comorbid fibromyalgia and compare their results with a matched inactive control group.
In this case-control study, 18 CFS-only patients, 30 CFS+FM patients and 30 healthy inactive controls performed a fatiguing upper limb exercise test with subsequent recovery measures.
There was no significant difference among the three groups for maximal handgrip strength of the non-dominant hand. A significant worse recovery of upper limb muscle function was found in the CFS+FM, but not in de CFS-only group compared with the controls (P < 0·05).
This study reveals, for the first time, delayed recovery of upper limb muscle function in CFS+FM, but not in CFS-only patients. The results underline that CFS is a heterogeneous disorder suggesting that reducing the heterogeneity of the disorder in future research is important to make progress towards a better understanding and uncovering of mechanisms regarding the nature of divers impairments in these patients.
慢性疲劳综合征（CFS）患者经常抱怨肌肉疲劳和异常缓慢的恢复，尤其是在日常生活活动期间和之后上肢肌肉的恢复。此外，尚未研究疾病异质性与 CFS 肌肉功能恢复之间的关系。在这里，我们研究了伴有（CFS+FM）和不伴有（CFS 仅有）纤维肌痛共病的 CFS 患者上肢肌肉功能从疲劳性运动中的恢复情况，并将其结果与匹配的不活动对照组进行了比较。
在这项病例对照研究中，18 名 CFS 仅有患者、30 名 CFS+FM 患者和 30 名健康不活动对照组进行了疲劳性上肢运动测试，并随后进行了恢复测量。
非优势手的最大握力在三组之间没有显著差异。与对照组相比，CFS+FM 组但不是 CFS 仅有组上肢肌肉功能的恢复明显较差（P<0.05）。
这项研究首次揭示了 CFS+FM 患者上肢肌肉功能恢复延迟，但 CFS 仅有患者则没有。结果强调了 CFS 是一种异质性疾病，这表明在未来的研究中减少疾病的异质性对于更好地理解和揭示这些患者各种损伤的性质的机制非常重要。
