Exactly how bright the future looks for people with CFS in terms of finding answers through research depends on who you talk to.
Louw is particularly encouraged by the body of work of Belgian researchers Mira Meeus and Jo Nijs, with whom he's collaborated, calling them "world-leading authorities in the field of neuroscience and people with chronic fatigue syndrome." Their work, he says, suggests that a "mid-range" of exercise is best, with no exercise or too much exercise both making the patient's condition worse. Their research, Louw says, "is very therapy-specific. I encourage PTs to look up their papers."
Davenport, however, argues that a "pain science approach" sometimes can underplay the value of patients "listening to their body" in favor of the message that "pain perception does not equal tissue damage." It's an area in which, he says, "pain science proponents and I have some robust debate."
He adds that while "some interesting papers have come out in recent years that seem to support the etiology of possible aerobic-system dysfunction" in people with CFS, a "causal link" to why CFS happens—and thus how it might best be addressed—remains elusive.