Enhancing Physical Activity Behaviour in People with Multiple Sclerosis

Lead Researcher:

Dr Susan Coote

Award Date:

1 January 2013

Host Institution:

University of Limerick

Scheme:

Health Research Award

Summary:

Multiple sclerosis is a chronic, progressive condition that results in a variety of symptoms including reduced mobility with 50% of people requiring assistance to walk 15 years after diagnosis. It effects people in their late twenties and has a devastating effect on their lives resulting in unemployment and the need for assistance with everyday activities. Exercise and rehabilitation are key to improving mobility and hence optimising function. There is a significant body of research that indicates that exercise has positive effects on a range of symptoms, mobility and quality of life. A significant gap in the literature is that the long term effects on health outcomes are not clear. It is also not known whether short bouts of exercise lead to long term changes in physical activity behaviour, or continuation of the exercises. Our recent randomised controlled trial demonstrated positive effects of a ten week programme on quality of life, walking endurance and importantly fatigue. The limitations were that adherence to the programme was not optimal, and that the effects were not maintained 3 months after the programme. Our collaborators in the US have developed and evaluated a behavioural intervention that aims to foster long term changes in exercise and physical activity by enhancing exercise self-efficacy. They have demonstrated improvements in adherence and work rate during the intervention, and improvements in physical activity following their programme. This research is novel in that it evaluates the combination two highly successful but to date separate themes of research. It is hypothesised that delivering the exercise classes and the behavioural intervention together will enhance health outcomes in the short and long term, and bring about long term changes in physical activity through continued engagement in exercise.