Multiple Sclerosis
Conditions
Brief summary
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.
Detailed description
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.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALTherapeutic Challenge Program
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.
BEHAVIORALTherapeutic Exercise Program
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.
Sponsors
University of Nebraska
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
30 Years to 70 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
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
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Changes in Balance Using the Sensory Organization Test | Baseline and 6 weeks | 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. |
| Changes in Walking Velocity, Step Lengths, Step Widths, and Cadence | Baseline and 6 weeks | The changes in walking velocity, step lengths, step widths, and cadence will be quantified using a GaitRITE digital mat. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Changes in Endurance using the 6-Minute Walk | Baseline and 6 weeks | The changes in endurance will be evaluated using the total distance walking during a 6 minute time frame. |
Countries
United States
Outcome results
None listed