The Effect of Strength Training on Gait for Individuals with Multiple Sclerosis

Seminar paper from the year 2020 in the subject Health - Physical Therapy / Occupational Therapy, grade: 92.5%, James Cook University, course: Bachelor of Physiotherapy, language: English, abstract: Gait impairments are highly prevalent in PwMS and have been found to vary in severity and correlate with deterioration of muscle strength. Hence, ST has been regarded as a promising avenue for PwMS although its effectiveness in promoting improvements in gait were unsubstantiated. The purpose of this review was to explore and evaluate the literature surrounding the effectiveness of ST in improving gait in PwMS. Following the analysis of four studies, ST could not be confirmed as effective in improving gait; as was the case in the works of Brændvik et al., (2015) Callesen et al., (2019) and Dodd et al., (2011), although outcome measure disparities and ST intervention selections were identified as potential factors influencing the findings. However, an alternate approach utilised by Manca et al. (2020) in carrying out DST of the ankle dorsiflexors saw significant improvements in gait speed and quality. When considering the lack of supporting evidence uncovered, it can be concluded that moderate intensity ST over a period of 6-10 weeks should not be recommended clinically for the purpose of improving gait in PwMS. Future investigations should explore the effectiveness of higher intensity, task-specific ST applied over a longer intervention period to a greater range of disability levels.