A University of Hong Kong study has found that qigong, the ancient Chinese exercise that includes deep breathing from the diaphragm, helps combat the syndrome.

Qigong was designed to boost blood circulation and could lead to long-term improvement in health, said Dr Yuen Lai-ping, a clinical consultant to the HKU Centre on Behavioural Health, which ran the study.

It found that patients who took up qigong were less tired and in better psychological and physical shape than those who did not.

The centre recruited about 130 working adults suffering from the condition for the four-month study, which started in October last year.

Half were randomly assigned to undergo 10 qigong sessions. After five weeks of practice, that group scored 23.3 in fatigue severity tests, down from 34.5. The group that did not practise qigong scored 29.6, a decrease of 6.3.

The results showed qigong could reduce fatigue significantly, Professor Cecilia Chan Lai-wan, the centre's director, said.

In terms of physical health, the qigong group scored 41.9, higher than the other group's 39.5. On psychological health, the qigong group scored 43.9, again higher than the other group's 38.3.

'Many city dwellers develop symptoms ... such as a recurrent sore throat, painful lymph nodes, lethargy, anxiety, forgetfulness and sleeping problems,' Chan said. 'Most patients don't realise they suffer from it, thinking it's just usual tiredness.'

The Western approach would be to manage the condition instead of curing it, she said. Chinese medicine doctors, on the other hand, think it stems from poor blood circulation due to a deficiency of qi - Chinese for 'air' - so fostering circulation of blood and qi is the core treatment.

Tired of suffering

The percentage of Hongkongers who suffer from chronic fatigue syndrome, which hurts the muscles and joints, is: 6.4%