Multiple Sclerosis
Conditions
Keywords
Accidental falls, Multiple Sclerosis, Education, Exercise, Postural balance
Brief summary
This pilot study will compare how often people with multiple sclerosis (MS) fall before participating in the Free From Falls (FFF) educational program, during the program, and for 8 weeks after the program. The protocol will also evaluate the accuracy, efficiency and convenience of an email survey to count how often people fall.
Detailed description
This pilot study will recruit people with MS who report falling at least twice in the previous 2 months to participate in the FFF program. All subjects will record their falls and injurious falls on a daily basis for at least 3 weeks before the program, during the program and for 8 weeks after the program. The program will consist of a weekly 2 hour session. One hour of the session will be educational and one hour of the program will involve exercise. The outcome of this study will be change in fall rate between the periods before, during and after the program.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALEducational intervention
This is an 8-week comprehensive fall prevention exercise and education program, with one 2-hour session each week, for people with MS, adapted from a similar program for older adults.
Sponsors
Oregon Health and Science University
Study design
Allocation
NA
Intervention model
SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 89 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* MS of any type * Age 18 years or older * Able to walk at least 100 meters with intermittent or unilateral constant assistance (cane, crutch or braces) with or without resting * Self-reported history of 2 or more falls in the previous 2 months * Clinically stable MS with no relapses within 30 days * Willing to provide informed consent * Fluent in written and spoken English. * Daily access to email and willing to respond to a daily email questionnaire
Exclusion criteria
* Serious psychiatric or medical conditions that would preclude reliable participation in the study.
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Change in fall frequency per month (30 days) | difference between the wait period before the 8 week FFF program and the 8 weeks after the end of the 8 week FFF program | The change in fall frequency between the wait period before the FFF program begins and 8 weeks after the program has ended. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| Relationship between paper and electronic fall calendars | 5 months |
Countries
United States
Outcome results
None listed