Effect of eight week progressive resistance training on walking ability, fatigue and quality of life in women with Multiple Sclerosis

Exercise training is an effective strategy to multiple sclerosis treatment. This study investigated the effect of progressive resistance training on walking ability, fatigue and quality of life in women with MS.

For this purpose, sixteen women with MS participated in this study. Subjects randomly were divided to control (32.37±8.15 years old) and experimental groups (29.71±5.37 years old). The experimental group participated in a graduate resistance training program for 8 weeks, 3 days/week, 40-70% of 1-Repetition Maximum (1-RM). Before and after exercise training, walking speed, walking endurance, fatigue and quality of life were measured in control and experimental groups. Repeated measure ANOVA was used to statistical analyses. Significance level was set to < 0.05.

Walking ability (endurance and speed walking) after 8 weeks resistance training significantly increased in experimental group (P=0.0001); while, walking ability decreased significantly in the control group (P=0.04). In the other hand, fatigue in experimental group significantly decreased (P=0.001), while in the control group insignificantly increased (P=0.73). Also, resistance training improved the mental health and quality of life of women with MS, while it decreased in control group (P= 0.04). On the other hand, there is no significant difference between the two groups in the quality of life and fatigue before and after training, but the walking ability (speed and endurance) after training in the experimental group was significantly higher than the control group.Discussion and

It seems that 8 weeks of progressive moderate-intensity resistance training can lead to increased walking ability and decreased fatigue, and ultimately lead to improved mental health and quality of life in women with MS.