MeSci
ME/CFS since 1995; activity level 6?
- Messages
- 8,231
- Location
- Cornwall, UK
Some readers will already be aware of my strong preference for natural treatments as the first choice over drugs. This study compares the benefits of exercise with those of drugs for secondary prevention of coronary disease, stroke rehabilitation, heart failure treatment, and diabetes prevention.
The particular natural treatment studied here - exercise - is, as most of us know, NOT a suitable treatment for ME/CFS.
However, this paragraph discusses the general bias towards drugs in research (which is likely to be reflected in biases in clinical practice and public perception):
Many of us here have chosen a natural route towards health improvement, many of those with tentative hopes of eventual cure, or at least complete remission.
As one such, I am heartened by the publication of this paper.
We will just have to keep a careful watch against its conclusions being inappropriately generalised. For example, some 'experts' might actually start suggesting exercise as a treatment for ME...
The particular natural treatment studied here - exercise - is, as most of us know, NOT a suitable treatment for ME/CFS.
However, this paragraph discusses the general bias towards drugs in research (which is likely to be reflected in biases in clinical practice and public perception):
Our findings reflect the bias against testing exercise interventions and highlight the changing landscape of medical research, which seems to increasingly favour drug interventions over strategies to modify lifestyle. The current body of medical literature largely constricts clinicians to drug options.48 This blind spot in available scientific evidence prevents prescribers and their patients from understanding the clinical circumstances where drugs might provide only modest improvement but exercise could yield more profound or sustainable gains in health. The lopsided nature of modern medical research may fail to detect the most effective treatment for a given condition if that treatment is not a prescription drug.
Many of us here have chosen a natural route towards health improvement, many of those with tentative hopes of eventual cure, or at least complete remission.
As one such, I am heartened by the publication of this paper.
We will just have to keep a careful watch against its conclusions being inappropriately generalised. For example, some 'experts' might actually start suggesting exercise as a treatment for ME...