ABC medical expert Norman Swan has sparked outrage among people with chronic fatigue syndrome and long-term Covid sufferers as he appears to endorse a controversial therapy.
a petition change.org has been launched demanding that Dr. Swan withdraws the positive comments he made about graded exercise therapy (GET).
The therapy claims to help CFS or long Covid patients rebuild their tolerance for physical activity by gradually increasing the intensity of their exercises.
The therapy is divisive with some practitioners encouraging it, while most consider it ineffective and claim it could worsen the severity of symptoms.
Chronic fatigue and long-term Covid-19 patients share similar symptoms that can vary in severity and type – with easy exhaustion being the most common.
The petition, created by Nicholas Carlton, accused Dr Swan of sharing “harmful and inaccurate” views about GET.
ABC medical expert Norman Swan is in trouble with people with chronic fatigue because he endorses a controversial therapy
‘The ABC is seriously undermining the credibility of its reporting and contributors by Dr. Swan on a widely heard, leading podcast,” the petition said.
The petition demands that Dr. Swan receives a formal warning from the ABC and apologizes to chronic fatigue and long-term Covid patients, has more than 1,000 signatures.
Dr. Swan is also being urged to look into CFS and people suffering from long-term Covid-19 to increase his understanding, and is also calling on the ABC to appoint Dr. Swan to issue a formal warning.
The specific comments from the petition were made by Dr. Swan during his regular Coronacast podcasts during episodes broadcast on September 27, 2023 and January 29, 2021.
During the September 27 podcast, Dr. Swan on treating CFS and long-term Covid-19 with cognitive behavioral therapy, challenging negative thoughts, and GET.
‘What are you going to do if there is no medical therapy? Are you going to sit with your complaints?’ he asked.
“In the absence of medical therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy and graded exercises seem to help.”
Dr. Swan did admit that there was a risk that ‘accelerating exercise too quickly in people with chronic fatigue actually worsens fatigue’.
He also cited a PACE study that claimed there were benefits for CFS patients from GET, although he admitted that the study was “controversial” and that a “group of people with chronic fatigue syndrome don’t like it” because “they think that it was done badly’.
“But I think we’re reaching a middle ground here,” Dr. Swan said of the use of GET and cognitive behavioral therapy.
Gradual exercise therapy involves gradually increasing the amount of physical activity that a patient does
The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners rated the evidence supporting the benefits of GET as level 1, which is the lowest on that confidence scale.
Dr. Chris Chappel, of Sydney’s Evergreen Doctors – a practice that specializes in people suffering from fatigue – did not support GET.
“We do not like graded exercise therapy and feel it can hinder recovery and cause patients undue distress,” said Dr. Chappel.
“Almost all patients with CFS will tell you that graded exercise therapy doesn’t work.”
He also cited advice from America’s Center of Disease Control (CDC) on Get.
“Any activity or exercise plan for people with ME/CFS should be carefully designed with input from each patient,” the CDC said.
‘Although vigorous aerobic exercise can be beneficial for many chronic diseases, patients with ME/CFS do not tolerate such exercise routines.
‘Standard exercise recommendations for healthy people may be harmful to patients with ME/CFS.’
Dr. Chappel explained that there are essentially two types of fatigue: peripheral and central fatigue.
‘Patients with peripheral Fatigue can go some distance, but in the right context, fatigue can benefit from a gradual exercise program,” he said.
Dr. Chris Chappel, of Sydney’s Evergreen Doctors, a practice specializing in people suffering from fatigue, does not endorse graded exercise therapy for people suffering from chronic fatigue
‘Most patients with CFS have central fatigue and are tired no matter what they do, and find that overexertion slows their progress.
“Even a simple task like going to the mailbox can wipe them out for hours or more.
‘All our treatment plans are personalized and holistic, exercise is only a small part of effective treatment.’
Daily Mail Australia contacted Dr Swan for comment.