The effect of exercise in interactive levels, cognitive rehabilitation and selected sports exercises on cognitive functions in patients with MS

MS is an autoimmune and destructive disease of the central nervous system with different disease progressions that lead to physical and cognitive disabilities.

The purpose of this research was to investigate the effect of exercise in interactive levels, cognitive rehabilitation, and selected sports exercises on the cognitive functions in patients with MS.

The present study was a semi-experimental project with a pre-post test design. The statistical population included all women with MS in Tehran in 2021. The sample included 30 women with MS aged 25-45 years who were randomly assigned to three groups for cognitive rehabilitation, selected sports, and interactive activities. Then, for 8 weeks and every week, 3 sessions of 90-minute, people in each group did the specific exercises of their group. The neuropsychological assessment tests of Kontab (1980) and the degree of disability progression questionnaire (1995) were used for data collection. Data analysis was performed using ANOVA with repeated measures, Bonferroni post hoc test, and dependent t in SPSS-21.

The results showed that training on interactive levels led to greater improvements in the cognitive indices of reaction time and selective attention than cognitive rehabilitation and sports training (P<0.05). While all three training methods led to the same extent to the development of the cognitive indicators working memory and cognitive flexibility, no significant difference was found between the effectiveness of these methods (P>0.05).

Overall, the results showed that interactive exercises have the greatest impact on improving cognitive function in people with MS. Thus, it seems that the use of this type of exercise leads to the induction of cognitive load, so it is recommended to use this type of exercise in the rehabilitation of people with MS.