Influence of Exercise on the Mobility and Balance of Individuals With Multiple Sclerosis

Influence of Exercise on the Mobility and Balance of Individuals With Multiple Sclerosis Influence of High-Dosage Physical Therapy on the Balance and Mobility of Individuals With Multiple Sclerosis

Outcomes from the investigators' recent investigation suggested that a high dosage of challenging physical therapy exercises can result in clinically improvements in the postural balance and walking speed of individuals with MS. This investigation will evaluate mobility and postural balance improvements in individuals with MS who participate in a therapeutic protocol consisting of activity based exercises, and in individuals with MS that participate in challenging physical therapy protocol.

Background: Outcomes from the investigators' recent exploratory investigation suggested that a high dosage of challenging physical therapy exercises can result in clinically relevant improvements in the postural balance and walking speed of individuals with MS. Objective: The investigators anticipated that the promising results were due to the novel challenging postural balance and mobility exercises. The purpose of this investigation was to test this notion by evaluating the mobility and postural balance improvements that could be achieved in a cohort of individuals with MS who participated in a therapeutic protocol that consisted of activity based exercises, and a cohort of individuals with MS that participated in the challenging physical therapy protocol.

The Therapeutic Challenge Group will complete the Therapeutic Challenge Program twice a day, five days each week for 6 weeks.

The Therapeutic Exercise Group will complete the Therapeutic Exercise Program twice a day, five days each week for 6 weeks.

The Therapeutic Challenge Program will consist of a 5 minute warm-up, 20 minutes of challenging balance training, and 20 minutes of challenging treadmill and overground walking.

The Therapeutic Exercise Program will consist of 15 minutes of strength training and flexibility exercises, 15 minutes of balance exercises, and 15 minutes of treadmill walking.

The Sensory Organization Test consists of six different conditions that measure each subject's ability to integrate visual, somatosensory, and vestibular feedback to reduce the overall amount of postural sway and improve balance.

The changes in walking velocity, step lengths, step widths, and cadence will be quantified using a GaitRITE digital mat.

The changes in endurance will be evaluated using the total distance walking during a 6 minute time frame.

Inclusion Criteria: Definitive diagnosis of multiple sclerosis Kurtzke Expanded Disability Status of 3.0 - 6.5 Able to walk on a treadmill at a minimum of 0.5 miles per hour while holding onto handrails Cognitively and emotionally competent A Mini-Mental State Examination score > 21 Composite score on the computerized Sensory Organization Test of < 70 Exclusion Criteria: Documented MS-related relapse in the previous 6 months Major MS-specific medication changes within the previous 3 months Presence of another major co-morbidity such as neurological disorders, uncontrolled pain, hypertension, and diabetes

Davies BL, Arpin DJ, Liu M, Reelfs H, Volkman KG, Healey K, Zabad R, Kurz MJ. Two Different Types of High-Frequency Physical Therapy Promote Improvements in the Balance and Mobility of Persons With Multiple Sclerosis. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2016 Dec;97(12):2095-2101.e3. doi: 10.1016/j.apmr.2016.05.024. Epub 2016 Jul 1.