Exercise Effects on Multiple Sclerosis Quality of Life and Clinical-Motor Symptoms.

This randomised controlled trial compared five different 5-week exercise programs (exergaming, balance training, cycling, proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation) against a wait-listed control group in 68 people with multiple sclerosis (90% female, average age 47, with moderate-to-severe disability). Researchers measured MS-related symptoms, quality of life, depression symptoms, gait, balance, walking capacity, and standing balance on a force platform before and after the interventions. Exergaming, balance training, and cycling all improved MS impact scores similarly, while the proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation and control groups showed no changes. Exergaming and cycling improved quality of life and walking capacity more than balance training, but only exergaming improved gait and balance test scores.

Exergaming and balance training reduced fall risk and improved standing balance more than cycling. Only in the exergaming group did quality of life changes correlate with symptom improvement. The main limitation is the small sample split across five groups, and the abstract does not report blinding or adverse events, limiting certainty about generalisability.

This study tested five different types of exercise programs in 68 people with multiple sclerosis who had moderate-to-severe mobility difficulties. Over 5 weeks (five sessions a week), people did exergaming (video game-based movement exercises), balance training, cycling, a hands-on therapy technique called proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation, or no special exercise (control group). Three of the programs, exergaming, balance training, and cycling, improved MS-related symptoms similarly.

The hands-on therapy and no-exercise group showed no improvement. Exergaming and cycling led to better quality of life and walking ability than balance training, but only exergaming improved gait and balance test scores specifically.

Exergaming and balance training reduced fall risk more than cycling did. Because the study included a fairly small number of people spread across five groups, and it's not clear from the results whether participants or assessors knew which group people were in, these findings should be seen as an early step rather than a definitive answer about which exercise works best.

This is a summary of research, not medical advice. Talk to your own healthcare provider about anything affecting your care.

This RCT randomised 68 PwMS (EDSS 5-6) to exergaming, balance training, cycling, PNF, or wait-listed control, running five sessions weekly for 5 weeks. Primary outcome was MSIS-29, with secondary measures spanning EQ-5D, depression symptoms, Tinetti, Berg Balance Scale, 6-minute walk test, and posturography. Between-group comparisons showed exergaming, balance, and cycling produced similar improvements in MSIS-29, while PNF and control showed none.

Exergaming and cycling outperformed balance training on quality of life and walking capacity, but only exergaming improved Tinetti scores. Exergaming and balance training exceeded cycling on fall risk and standing balance measures.

Notably, quality of life change correlated with MSIS-29 change (R=0.73) only in the exergaming group, suggesting a possible moderating relationship specific to that modality, though this is a single correlational finding within one arm. Sample size per group is small given five arms, and the abstract does not report blinding procedures, adherence, or adverse events, so risk of bias and safety cannot be assessed from this data. These findings add comparative evidence but require replication with larger, more rigorously controlled trials.