Yoga, Exercise Beats
Fatigue in Multiple Sclerosis
Excerpt By Alison McCook, Reuters Health

Despite anecdotal evidence that people with multiple sclerosis should avoid exerting themselves, new research suggests that some exercise, including yoga, may combat their fatigue.

Investigators found that six months of regular exercise -- either riding a stationary bicycle or practicing yoga in specially tailored programs -- improved general energy levels in people with relatively early forms of multiple sclerosis (MS).

Fatigue is a significant complaint among MS patients, and these findings suggest that people with the condition should try to stay active and not avoid exercise after their diagnosis, study author Dr. Barry S. Oken of Oregon Health & Science University in Portland told Reuters Health.

The results are "reassuring that we can get patients out there and try to get them into some kind of fitness," he said.

Doctors who advise MS patients to avoid exerting themselves "have probably been too conservative telling them not to exercise," Oken added.

He and his colleagues presented their findings last week during the American Academy of Neurology's 55th annual meeting in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Multiple sclerosis, which afflicts about a million people worldwide, is a chronic disorder of the central nervous system in which the immune system, for unknown reasons, attacks the myelin sheath that insulates nerve fibers in the brain and spinal cord.

Over time, the disease can lead to numbness, muscle weakness and stiffness, impaired vision and coordination problems.

To determine whether exercise can help people with MS, Oken and his colleagues split 69 MS patients into three groups. Over six months, one group enrolled in a weekly yoga class geared toward people with the condition, another enrolled in a stationary bicycle exercise class for MS patients and were given their own stationary bike to take home, while the rest maintained their normal activity levels.

After six months, participants in the normal-activity group were allowed to enroll in the program of their choice.

All of the MS patients in the study had a relatively early form of the disease and were still able to walk, either unassisted or with a cane.

At the end of the six-month period, MS patients said they generally felt more energized.

However, they still had the same difficulty in performing tasks such as climbing stairs or reading as before the exercise program began.

It would have been better to see exercise-related improvements in other areas besides general fatigue, Oken noted, but he added that he was encouraged to see that patients did not get worse as a result of exercise.

In terms of which exercise works best for MS patients, the researcher recommended that patients choose whatever program they prefer -- either yoga or stationary bikes -- which avoid problems with balance.

If patients like the program, they are more likely to keep up with it, Oken said.

"Picking an activity that people want to do becomes more important," he noted.

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