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Exercising Impacts on Fatigue, Depression, and Paresthesia in Female Patients with Multiple Sclerosis.

Medicine and science in sports and exercise
May 1, 2016
Nazanin Razazian et al. (8 authors)
Journal ArticleRandomized Controlled TrialResearch Support, Non-U.S. Gov'tHuman StudyClinical
Study Details

Study Goal

The researchers aimed to determine whether aquatic exercise, alongside standard immune regulatory medication, could reduce fatigue, depression, and paresthesia in women with MS compared to a nonexercise control.

Results Summary

Aquatic exercise significantly reduced fatigue, depression, and paresthesia compared to the nonexercise control group, with a 35-fold lower likelihood of moderate to severe depression in the intervention groups.

Population

54 women with MS (mean age 33.94 years).

Effective Dosage

Not specified

Duration

8 weeks

Interactions

None mentioned

Extracted Claims (7)
InterventionDirectionEndpointPopulationDosageImpactClaim #
yoga
decrease
fatigue
women with MS
-
decreased significantly
#1
yoga
decrease
depression
women with MS
-
decreased significantly
#2
yoga
decrease
paresthesia
women with MS
-
decreased significantly
#3
aquatic exercise
decrease
fatigue
women with MS
-
decreased significantly
#4
aquatic exercise
decrease
depression
women with MS
-
decreased significantly
#5
aquatic exercise
decrease
paresthesia
women with MS
-
decreased significantly
#6
nonexercise control condition
increase
depression
women with MS
35-fold higher
likelihood of reporting moderate to severe depression was 35-fold higher
#7
Abstract

PURPOSE: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic progressive autoimmune disease impacting both body and mind. Typically, patients with MS report fatigue, depression, and paresthesia. Standard treatment consists of immune modulatory medication, though there is growing evidence that exercising programs have a positive influence on fatigue and psychological symptoms such as depression. We tested the hypothesis that, in addition to the standard immune regulatory medication, either yoga or aquatic exercise can ameliorate both fatigue and depression, and we examined whether these interventions also influence paresthesia compared with a nonexercise control condition. METHODS: Fifty-four women with MS (mean age: M = 33.94 yr, SD = 6.92) were randomly assigned to one of the following conditions: yoga, aquatic exercise, or nonexercise control. Their existing immune modulatory therapy remained unchanged. Participants completed questionnaires covering symptoms of fatigue, depression, and paresthesia, both at baseline and on completion of the study 8 wk later. RESULTS: Compared with the nonexercise control condition and over time, fatigue, depression, and paresthesia decreased significantly in the yoga and aquatic exercise groups. On study completion, the likelihood of reporting moderate to severe depression was 35-fold higher in the nonexercise control condition than in the intervention conditions (yoga and aquatic exercising values collapsed). CONCLUSION: The pattern of results suggests that for females with MS and treated with standard immune regulatory medication, exercise training programs such as yoga and aquatic exercising positively impact on core symptoms of MS, namely, fatigue, depression, and paresthesia. Exercise training programs should be considered in the future as possible complements to standard treatments.

Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)
AdultDepressionExercise TherapyFatigueFemaleHumansMultiple SclerosisParesthesiaYoga
Study Links
Quality Scores
SafetyNot Assessed
Efficacy85/10
Quality75/10
Citation Metrics
Total Citations61
Citations/Year6.8
Relative Citation Ratio3.86
NIH Percentile89.6%
Research Impact Scores
APT Score0.95
Weight Score1.94
Normalized Score0.69
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