Exercise Barriers in Multiple Sclerosis: Falling

It won’t come as a surprise to many that research has shown regular exercise can be especially important for people living with multiple sclerosis. In particular it has been shown to lead to improvements in mobility, balance, cognition, fatigue and depression.  However, even though studies have shown that many people recognise this, there are still large numbers who don’t participate in meaningful physical activity.

Indeed, people living with multiple sclerosis have identified issues such as mobility difficulties, fatigue, pain and heat sensitivity as just some of the factors that prevent them from undertaking regular exercise.  Considering this, it is important that we get a better understanding of these barriers and ways that they can be overcome.

Last month, a study from Israel investigated this in more detail by comparing groups of people living with multiple sclerosis that engage in regular activity with those that don’t.  After looking through a number of different factors, they found that the most significant contributor to not participating in physical activity was actually a fear of falling.  This is supported by an earlier study that found almost 83% of people living with multiple sclerosis who had a fear of falling reported they also exercised less.

A study published last month from Oregon, America has started to address this issue.  This small trial, known as ADSTEP, involved 40 people living with multiple sclerosis who were using walking aids and had experienced a fall within the past 12 months.

For the trial, half of the participants received the ADSTEP program, a weekly 40 minute one-on-one session with a physical therapist for six weeks. The other 20 participants acted as the control group, where they proceeded with their normal medical care without added ADSTEP intervention.

During the ADSTEP sessions, the participants were helped with the selection and fitting of a new walking aid and then provided with progressive gait training.  At the end of the trial, it was found that the individuals who had worked with the physical therapist had significantly less falls and were also spending less time sitting and more time walking.

This is a relatively small trial, but it provides some good initial evidence that steps (pardon the pun) can be taken to help reduce the fall risk in people living with multiple sclerosis, and ultimately the fear associated with it.

The above article was commissioned by MS Limited and has previously been published in their eNewsletter, Intouch.  We are revisiting this topic following a discussion during our recent Facebook live session,  which suggested that many people with MS are interested in participating in exercise, yet have concerns that prevent them from doing so.