Review article in Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair, Volume 23, Number 2, 2009; Erin M. Snook, MS, and Robert W. Motl, PhD

This study analysed the overall effect of exercise training interventions on walking mobility among individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS).

Exercise training is described as cumulative bouts of planned and structured physical activity that are repeatedly performed for an extended period of time with a specific external objective or goal of improved or maintained fitness.

The promotion of exercise is important because physical inactivity is prevalent among those with MS. Exercise training is associated with health benefits such as reduced risks for types of cardiovascular disease, hypertension, type 2 diabetes mellitus, cancer, depression, and obesity. Therefore, people with MS should be encouraged to engage in exercise training and an active lifestyle as a means to accumulate other physical and psychologic health benefits.

Exercise training is associated with an improvement in mobility related activities in people with MS. This is important because walking mobility is associated with disease progression in MS and exercise is a modifiable behaviour with potential positive impact on walking. Exercise was found to have an effect on walking mobility in both relapsing remitting MS and progressive MS.

Those that exercised in a supervised setting were found to have better improvements than those that only exercised at home.

Conclusion: The evidence supports that exercise is associated with small but significant improvements in walking mobility among individuals with MS.