Exercise May Cut Fatigue In Patients

Facing fatigue from an immune system disease such as lupus, multiple sclerosis (MS), or rheumatoid arthritis (RA)?

You're not alone. Fatigue is common with those conditions. But walking, biking, or other low-impact aerobic exercise may reduce your fatigue, Australian researchers report.

Jane Neill, Ph.D., R.N., and colleagues reviewed 11 studies on exercise and fatigue. Their review appears in the Journal of Advanced Nursing. The studies included more than 400 patients with lupus, MS, or RA. Those are autoimmune diseases, in which the immune system attacks the body instead of defending it.

Patients first got a thorough checkup to make sure they were healthy enough to exercise. The studies used various exercise programs for three months, on average. Patients typically worked out for 30 to 60 minutes, three times per week. Some patients took low-impact aerobics classes. Others walked, biked, or swam on their own.

In six studies, patients' fatigue improved to a degree that likely wasn't due to chance.

Inspired to give exercise a try for fatigue? You may want to consider these tips from the study: