Multiple Sclerosis and Exercise
Description
Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease that occurs due to demyelination throughout the brain and spinal cord. As a result of demyelination, the myelin sheaths are damaged which causes nerve impulses to slow or stop. This can impact many different body systems such as movement, cognition and temperature control.
Prevalence
- The estimated number of people with MS worldwide is 2.8 million as of 2020
- Females are twice as likely to be diagnosed with MS compared to males
- MS is generally detected between the ages of 20 and 40 years old
Types of MS
- Relapsing Remitting:
- The most common type of MS (85%). Frequent relapses occurring with periods of recovery in between relapses
- Primary Progressive:
- Progressive worsening of symptoms without periods of recovery
- Secondary Progressive:
- A secondary phase of relapsing remitting. Can develop years or decades after the initial onset of MS symptoms
Common Signs & Symptoms
- Fatigue
- Heat or Cold Sensitivity
- Muscle Weakness
- Mobility Issues
- Balance Issues
- Visual Disturbances
Impact on Life
MS can effect:
- Fatigue
- Challenging to complete everyday tasks which can lead to reduced independence
- Feeling tired from completing small tasks
- Reduced ability to participate in social activities
- Increased periods of rest which can worsen other MS symptoms such as reduce balance and muscle strength
- Temperature control
- Can make it difficult to attend places where the temperature is uncontrolled
- Increased sensitivity to heat or cold
- Balance
- Increased risk of falls which can cause injuries
- Increased fear of falls can lead to avoidance of exercise participation or social participation
- Fine motor skills
- Due to numbness, pain, tingling or tremors
- Can make it difficult to complete household chores
- Can make it challenging to pick objects up or carry them
- Can be difficult to complete every day tasks such as getting dressed, writing, eating with utensils, typing on a phone
- Mobility
- Difficulty walking longer distances
- Decreased ability to use stairs and complete sit to stands
- Increased reliance on mobility aids
- Can experiences numbness, pain, tingling or tremors in limbs which can affect mobility
- Difficulty standing for long periods of time
- Strength
- Experiencing weakness in the limbs
- Difficulty lifting and carrying items
- Difficulty getting in and out of chairs
- Ability to complete activities of daily living
- Difficulty completing household chores due to decreased strength, mobility and fatigue
- Struggling with every day tasks such as getting dressed, writing, eating with utensils, typing on a phone due to decreased fine motor skills and strength
How Can Exercise Physiology Help?
Exercise Physiology can help to:
Identify what is giving you the most trouble and what is at risk of declining
- MS affects your mobility, balance and strength and as a result it can reduce what you do on a day to day basis as a result of your MS
- Factors that contribute to MS and that can help to improve symptoms include:
- Mobility and ability to get in and out of a chair
- Upper body strength and difficulty carrying and lifting items
- Use of strategies to help with fatigue
- Lower body strength and difficulty of tasks involving your legs
- Increase your strength to help get up from the floor after a fall
- Temperature control
- We can help to identify what is causing you the most trouble so it can be directly addressed leading to effective results and continual improvement
Identify a few key exercises that will make a big difference
- By directly addressing the key issues identified above it will lead to a much more effective intervention
- From the testing we can identify 3 exercises that will help you to improve and manage your symptoms
Work on exercises to improve your overall function and ability to participate in activities that your MS has been stopping you from doing
- Our Exercise Physiologists complete regular home visits helping people to complete a tailored set of exercises to help improve their MS symptoms
- By having an Exercise Physiologist come to visit we are able to ensure that you are working at the right level to improve your symptoms and practice exercises that you are unable to do on your own
- We can offer exercise sessions in the comfort of your temperature controlled home
Show you some techniques to help manage MS symptoms
- We can show you the best way to get up safely from the floor
- We can help improve your ability to use stairs
- Complete balance exercises with you that you are unable to do on your own
- We can show you how to incorporate exercise into your everyday life to assist with reducing fatigue
- Help to decrease disease progression and relapse
When To Get Help
- It is best to get assistance when MS symptoms first appear to assist with slowing down the disease progression and managing symptoms and occurrence of relapse.
- It is important to get help to work on deficit areas to improve overall function and manage MS symptoms in a safe and efficient way
Where To Start
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes- we can contact you provider to organise services through your package. We are able to fit in around current budgets to provide an effective service without impacting your current plan.
Our services under the Support at Home Program do not have any copayments attached and are a fantastic preventative option that help to reduce condition progress and provide people with a way to improve their health and mobility
During our initial appointments we complete a series of tests looking at:
- Balance
- Grip Strength
- Walking
- Standing up from a chair(leg strength)
- Stair use(if possible)
- Aches and Pains
- Other relevant physical tests
These tests give us an indicator of what area needs to be addressed and helps to identify what exercises will help the most.
By prioritising a few exercises it helps to improve exercise adherence, reduce frustration and improve the reward for effort
All of these tests can be improved over time through exercise and they provide an in depth overview of someones physical condition
We will recommend the best option based on the testing results completed in the initial assessment
We see most of our clients on average either weekly or once per fortnight. However we are happy to discuss options based on individual circumstances
During an exercise physiology visit you can expect to compete a number of exercises working on improving the areas you need to improve
Initial Assessment
Questions regarding
- Medical Conditions
- Aches and Pains
- Medications
- Falls History
- Current Exercise Levels
Some tests looking at:
- Balance
- Walking
- Sitting and Standing
- Stair Use
- Grip Strength
- Aches and Pains
From this we recommend how often you would benefit from our services, plus the 3 most important exercises to improve
These tests are done every 6 weeks to monitor improvement and to identify other areas that need to be worked on
During a normal session we usually complete:
- 5-6 exercises working on improving
- These exercises are progressed over the sessions
- We update any home exercises as needed
- Practice completing harder exercises that require supervision eg balance