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.
OBJECTIVE
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).


CONCLUSIONS
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.
Coutts
R
R
School of Exercise Science and Sport Management, Southern Cross University, P.O. Box 157, New South Wales 2480, Lismore, Australia.rcoutts@scu.edu.au
Weatherby
R
R
Davie
A
A
D000293:Adolescent; D000368:Aged; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D015673:Fatigue Syndrome, Chronic / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010259:Paranoid Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology; D010698:Phobic Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012647:Self-Assessment; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013001:Somatoform Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016138:Walking