Treadmill Exercise Benefits MS Patients, According to Study Presented at ACTRIMS Forum
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Brian M. Sandroff from the Kessler Foundation and Robert W. Mot with the University of Illinois will present the results of a study on the effects of exercise in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) today, Feb.18, at the Americas Committee for the Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ACTRIMS) Forum 2016 in New Orleans.
The presentation is titled “Acute effects of treadmill walking exercise on inhibitory control in MS: Do exercise intensity and thermosensitivity matter?” and is part of Session 1, “Emerging Concept in MS.”
Exercise training represents a promising approach for managing cognitive impairment in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). Preliminary evidence showed that treadmill walking might be the exercise that exerts the greatest beneficial effects on inhibitory control (the ability to focus on relevant stimuli and ignore irrelevant ones) in fully-ambulatory patients with MS.
The research team first compared the acute effects of light, moderate, and vigorous intensity treadmill walking (TMW) exercise on inhibitory control (IC) in 24 MS patients (study 1). The patients completed four experimental conditions (20 minutes of light, moderate, and vigorous intensity TMW exercise, and quiet rest) in a randomized, counterbalanced order. IC was assessed before and after each condition through a cognitive test (the modified flanker task).
Then, to assess whether an increase in core body temperature would have a negative impact on the potential benefits of TMW exercise on IC, the researchers examined the core body temperature during vigorous TMW exercise in 14 thermosensitive MS patients (study 2). The patients completed two experimental conditions (20 minutes of vigorous TMW exercise and 20 minutes of quiet rest). Using a modified flanker task, the researchers assessed the patient’s core body temperature throughout both conditions. IC was evaluated before and after each condition.
In study 1, the results revealed that MS patients had an IC improvement in all three intensities of TMW exercise compared with quiet rest, and that the improvement was similar in magnitude. Results from study 2 showed improvements in IC for vigorous exercise compared with quiet rest, despite core body temperature being significantly elevated (approximately 0.6°C) after vigorous exercise in thermosensitive MS patients.
Based on the results, the researchers noted that light, moderate, and vigorous intensity treadmill walking might be beneficial for inhibitory control in MS patients. The findings also suggest that core body temperature does not seem to invalidate the beneficial effects of walking on a treadmill on IC in MS patients.
“This represents the next step in delineating the optimal exercise stimuli for improving cognition in fully-ambulatory persons with MS, and supports the feasibility of chronic TMW exercise training for improving IC in thermosensitive persons with MS,” concluded the research team in their ACTRIMS’ abstract.
Steven
It seems that there are quite a few people with MS that read this blog, that would benefit from an easier-to-read version of this article.
Some specific things that would help:
- Define what IC is: Inhibitory Control is a person's ability to ignore distractions when focusing on a task.
- Define what a Flanker task is: They used a well-known test called a Flanker task to measure each person's IC.
It's almost heart-breaking to read some of the comments on other posts. You're doing important, compassionate work here. People draw real hope from the information you spread. And making it easy for them to understand, the people who need it the most, and who have the hardest time parsing it, is such a kind, caring thing to do.
Patricia Silva, PhD
Hello Steven, the draft has been altered according to your suggestions. Thank you for reading our articles critically and also for your positive feedback. We appreciate it.
Kind regards, Patricia
Amit
Thank you for listening to the cause of MS Patients, not many people do!
Maryellen Mitchell
Where do I find the rewritten article on treadmill exercise?
Thank you
Maryellen
[email protected]
Lisa Comet Davis
Thanks.
annette
Thank you patricia and Steven for making this easier to be understood by the layperson. I hope you will continue to present this to us in easier terms.
Reggie Ralph
I have been walking on the treadmill or around the block for 20min everyday for the past two years and know from experience that if I increase the intensity of my walk, either duration or try to walk faster I feel bad as my body temperature rises. It took a while for me to understand the no pain no gain does not apply to me anymore.