Comparative effectiveness of four exercise interventions followed by two years of exercise maintenance in multiple sclerosis: A randomized control trial

OBJECTIVE

To determine the effects of Exergaming on quality of life (QoL), motor, and clinical symptoms in Multiple Sclerosis. We compared the effects of exergaming (EXE), balance (BAL), cycling (CYC), proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF), and a standard care wait-listed control group (CON) on clinical and motor symptoms and quality of life (QoL) in people with MS (PwMS) and determined the effects of subsequent maintenance programs for 2 years in a hospital setting.

DESIGN

A randomized clinical trial, using before-after test design.

SETTINGS

University Hospital Setting PARTICIPANTS: Of 82 multiple sclerosis outpatients, 70 were randomized, and 68 completed the study.

INTERVENTIONS

The initial high-intensity and -frequency interventions consisted of 25, 1-h sessions over 5 weeks. After the 5-wk-long initial intervention, the 2-year-long maintenance programs followed, consisting of 3 sessions per week, each for 1h.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

The primary outcome: Multiple Sclerosis Impact Scale (MSIS-29).

SECONDARY OUTCOMES

Measures five aspects of health-related QoL (EQ-5D index), Beck Depression Inventory, six-minute walk test (6MWT), Berg Balance Scale (BBS), Tinetti Assessment Tool (TAT) and static balance (center of pressure, COP).

RESULTS

MSIS-29 improved most in EXE (11 points), BAL (6), and CYC (6, all p<0.05). QoL improved most in EXE (3 points) and CYC and BAL (2, all p<0.05). TAT and BBS improved significantly (p<0.05) but similarly (p>0.05) in EXE, BAL, and CYC. 6MWT improved most in EXE (57m), BAL (32m), and CYC (19m all p<0.001). Standing sway did not change. Maintenance programs further increased the initial exercise-induced gains, robustly in EXE.

CONCLUSION

25 sessions of EXE, BAL, CYC, and PNF, in this order, improved clinical and motor symptoms and QoL and subsequent, 2-y-long thrice weekly maintenance programs further slowed symptom-worsening and improved QoL. EXE was the most and PNF was the least effective to improve clinical symptoms, motor function, and QoL in PwMS.

Detraining Slows and Maintenance Training Over 6 Years Halts Parkinsonian Symptoms-Progression

Introduction: There are scant data to demonstrate that the long-term non-pharmaceutical interventions can slow the progression of motor and non-motor symptoms and lower drug dose in Parkinson's disease (PD). Methods: After randomization, the Exercise-only (E, n = 19) group completed an initial 3-week-long, 15-session supervised, high-intensity sensorimotor agility exercise program designed to improve the postural stability. The Exercise + Maintenance (E + M, n = 22) group completed the 3-week program and continued the same program three times per week for 6 years. The no exercise and no maintenance control (C, n = 26) group continued habitual living. In each patient, 11 outcomes were measured before and after the 3-week initial exercise program and then, at 3, 6, 12, 18, 24, 36, 48, 60, and 72 months. Results: The longitudinal linear mixed effects modeling of each variable was fitted with maximum likelihood estimation and adjusted for baseline and covariates. The exercise program strongly improved the primary outcome, Motor Experiences of Daily Living, by ~7 points and all secondary outcomes [body mass index (BMI), disease and no disease-specific quality of life, depression, mobility, and standing balance]. In E group, the detraining effects lasted up to 12 months. E+M group further improved the initial exercise-induced gains up to 3 months and the gains were sustained until year 6. In C group, the symptoms worsened steadily. By year 6, levodopa (L-dopa) equivalents increased in all the groups but least in E + M group. Conclusion: A short-term, high-intensity sensorimotor agility exercise program improved the PD symptoms up to a year during detraining but the subsequent 6-year maintenance program was needed to further increase or sustain the initial improvements in the symptoms, quality of life, and drug dose.