Exercise

The benefits of exercise for people with MS are well established and outweigh the passive and protective historic perspective. Keeping active certainly helps but restoration of muscle strength demands training, repetition and resisted exercise. Evidence now demonstrates that well controlled resisted and aerobic exercise can promote good gains in strength and fitness.

A regular, well controlled and enjoyable aerobic exercise routine can provide these benefits for people with MS:

• Increase muscle mass and thus strength
• Decrease body fat
• Maintain the mobility of joints
• Increase flexibility of tendons and muscles
• Improve cardiac performance Improve respiratory function
• Increase endurance
• Provide psychological benefits. Eg decrease anxiety and depression, improve sleep quality, increase self-esteem and increase concentration.
• Increase the peripheral circulation

A well disciplined person who can exercise regularly (preferably daily), will be rewarded with some degree of improvement. Maintaining muscle strength and mobility of joints is half the battle. The other half is improving fitness – having the endurance to participate and enjoy outdoor activities with family and friends.

A good outcome usually needs a good input. The challenge is there for all people with M.S to resist a passive role and actively take control of their own health management programme and determine their own particular lifestyle.

To self manage your own exercise programme: 

• Become well informed about exercising before commencing a programme.
• Develop an awareness of monitoring the effects of exercise during the programme.
• Discover the multitude of exercise and recreational activities available.
• Choose activities you enjoy and you will come back for more!!