A systematic review and network meta-analysis means that they did not perform any new research. Instead, they found previous studies done on this topic and compiled them and compared them to answer their question.
They found that in the short-term, Pilates, Aquatic Exercise, and Resistance Exercise were the most beneficial in terms of reduced symptoms. In the long-term, Dance and Mixed Exercise (defined as a combination of Aerobic, Resistance, and/or Flexibility Exercise) produced the best results.
Mixed Exercise was the only intervention to obtain a “high certainty of evidence in the long term”, which means that we can be more confident in its benefit.
One big caveat is that nowhere in this research could I see any mention of how the participants managed their energy. When I investigated some of the studies that they used, I found that most of them did not mention pacing. However, most claimed that participants tolerated the exertion well. This is unsurprising as those who were unable to tolerate that level of exertion were unlikely to have signed up to do it in the first place, but this self-selection bias means that the big issue of post-exertional malaise (PEM) was overlooked.
Despite this caveat, it is useful to see that Mixed Exercise was the most likely to provide long-term benefits. While perhaps not surprising, it is a helpful reminder to try adding some variation into your movement – within the limits of your pacing, of course.