If you have a multiple sclerosis (MS), the simple fact of spending the day may look like a climb up. Training can be very low on your priority list. However, integration into a certain exercise – when you feel standing – can really help improve symptoms and slow down the progress of the condition.
How the MS affects movement
The MS causes inflammation in the central nervous system, which damages the protective coating which covers the nerve cells (called myelin sheath) and allows them to send efforts without effort. These current damage finally slows messages from your brain and spinal cord that teach your muscles how to move.
“As a result, you can feel a weakness, pain and altered feeling, where you cannot feel where your joints are in space,” said Abby McKeown, DPT, Physiotherapist at the Rush University Medical Center, in Livestrong.com. “You may also have visual changes such as double vision, problems with coordination, balance problems and fatigue.”
The advantages of the exercise for the
When you are exhausted, dizzy and wobbly, the exercise is probably the last thing you want to do – but it can actually improve your symptoms for the long term. (Although you may want to consider exercising with a safety training boyfriend.)
“Research shows a correlation between the increase in aerobic capacity and the preservation of the structures of the central nervous system which are disabled during the MS,” explains McKeown. “The exercise cannot necessarily reverse the damage that has already occurred, but this can slow the progression of the disease and has proven [help protect] The structures that are still intact. “”
For example, a May 2015 study in Therapeutic progress in neurological disorders I found that physical activity helps SEP symptoms and prevents complications. “Exercise can reduce depression and increase quality of life, muscle strength, balance, aerobic capacity and cardio function,” said McKeown.
In addition to that, a March 2020 review in BMC neurology revealed that physical activity considerably reduces fatigue associated with MS.
With all this in mind, we asked McKeown to share short and soft home training for people with MS.
Warning
Talk to your doctor before starting any new training program if you have a SEP. They can help you determine if these exercises below or others are appropriate and useful for you, depending on where you are during the condition.
Try this 10 -minute training
For this sequence, McKewn has selected exercises that strengthen quads, glutes and nucleus. “Keep these muscles [strong] is important because they are necessary to carry out functional daily activities, such as getting up with a chair and mounting the stairs, “she said.
People with Sep should aim to do a training in resistance of 2 to 3 days per week, each time 5 to 10 exercises and performing 1 to 3 series of 8 to 15 repetitions of each financial year, according to research from July 2020 in the American Journal of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation . You want to choose a weight that allows you to finish this last set comfortably – the goal is to get a good pump, but would not exhaust you completely.
If two to three training sessions per week are overwhelming, do not worry: even a small physical activity helps, according to Mayo Clinic. This brief body weight training is an excellent starting point. If you feel good, you can also complete it with a short walk, says McKeown.
“Monitor how your body reacts to the exercise and how tired you feel,” says McKeown. “Remember that if increased temporary fatigue is a normal response to the exercise, it should improve in the coming hours – and over time, the controlled exercise could actually increase your energy.”
Depending on how you react (and your doctor’s advice), consider doing less rehearsals or sets, only doing some of the following exercises or spreading them throughout the day.
1. Pont
“This is an excellent exercise to start because it undertakes many muscle groups – glutes, quads, nucleus – in an action,” explains McKeown.
