PACE trial authors admit in the BMJ, fear of exercise in CFS is not irrational

By Trudie Chalder Professor,
Kimberley Goldsmith, Peter White, Michael Sharpe, Andrew Pickles King's College London, Department of Psychological Medicine, King's College London, Weston Education Centre, Cutcombe Road, London, SE5 9RJ,

  in the BMJ, 29 January 2015:

  "We found that fear avoidance beliefs mediated both CBT and GET. This does not mean that these beliefs cause the illness.

  We would like to clarify that we did not say that fear avoidance was the cause of CFS [3,4]. We did not state that the illness was psychological or an exercise phobia. Nor did we say that fear of exercise in CFS was “irrational”. Rather, in an illness where exercise increases symptoms, we believe that being cautious about engaging in activity is understandable [4]."