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

University of Nebraska32 enrolled

Overview

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.

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

NONE

Enrollment

Conditions

Multiple Sclerosis

Interventions

Therapeutic Challenge ProgramBEHAVIORAL

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.

Therapeutic Exercise ProgramBEHAVIORAL

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.

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 30 YearsMax age: 70 Years

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

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

Locations (1)

Unversity of Nebraska Medical Center, Monroe-Meyer Institute

Omaha, Nebraska, United States

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Changes in Balance Using the Sensory Organization Test

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.

Time frame: Baseline and 6 weeks

Changes in Walking Velocity, Step Lengths, Step Widths, and Cadence

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

Time frame: Baseline and 6 weeks

Secondary Outcomes

Changes in Endurance using the 6-Minute Walk

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

Time frame: Baseline and 6 weeks

Data from ClinicalTrials.gov

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