By David Tuller, DrPH
Todd Davenport is a professor of physical therapy at University of the Pacific in Stockton, California. He is also part of a research team from Workwell Foundation, an exercise physiology center in Ripon, California, that pioneered the use of 2-day cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) to document the core ME and ME/CFS symptom of post-exertional malaise (PEM). In its new ME/CFS guidelines, the UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence also refers to this phenomenon as post-exertional symptom exacerbation (PESE).
In February, the Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy published a four-part blog series from Davenport and his Workwell colleagues called “Lessons From Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome for Long COVID.” The series focused specifically on PEM, or PESE, as a defining characteristic of ME/CFS and of many cases falling into the broad long Covid category.
In April, I spoke with Davenport about the key points covered in the blog series. At the time, I put it up on youtube and (I’m pretty sure) on Facebook, but I apparently forgot to post it on Virology Blog. So here it is. The discussion is obviously still highly relevant.
Many many years ago, I wished I could get access to a sports medicine lab, because I was sure they would be the most likely people to discover what was robbing me of my breath and blowing me up like a balloon when I exercised.
GPs preferred to blame me for ‘anxiety’ and accuse me of ‘panic attacks’. I still can’t stand up for more than a few minutes, or less if I use any muscle power at the same time. And I’m still no closer to ever meeting a sports scientist.
Before I got ill, one of my favorite books was ‘Nutrition for Sport’ for its easy to follow descriptions of energy paths and principles in the body. It was only a matter of time before the search for extra performance by the elites, produced results that could help the rest of us. But why did it have to take sooooo long? Too late for me now. :/