There are still MS patients who are unsure about sports and exercise, especially when it comes to intensive training. Therefore, I would like to emphasize once again that the old view that one has to physically spare oneself with a chronic disease like MS and should not overexert oneself is no longer sustainable. Sport has many positive aspects, especially for people with MS. See also the Docblog post „Sport and MS“.
Scientifically, the exact opposite is even the case – it is becoming increasingly clear that MS patients in particular benefit from exercise programs in terms of reducing MS-specific symptoms. In fact, it is so that MS sufferers particularly benefit from intense physical training. These intensified training concepts are also gaining more and more importance for the rehabilitation of MS patients.
In Germany, sports scientist Prof. Philipp Zimmer from the Institute for Sports Sciences at the Technical University of Dortmund is primarily concerned with the effects of high-intensity interval training (High Intensity Interval Training – HIIT) on multiple sclerosis.
High-intensity interval training (HIIT) is a training protocol where short phases of intense anaerobic exercises are followed by recovery phases – so maximum or near maximum effort alternates with rest periods or phases of low activity. With this training program, the aerobic capacity and fatigue in MS sufferers could be efficiently improved. Recent studies also show that HIIT, unlike moderate continuous training, reduces certain inflammation markers and thus possibly not only contributes to symptom improvement, but also influences biological processes that are crucial for the course of the disease.
HIIT – intensive interval training also in multiple sclerosis
In clinical studies, the working group of Philipp Zimmer investigated a combination of cognitive behavioral therapy and different exercise programs. It was shown that the combination of HIIT with cognitive behavioral therapy in terms of quality of life and cardiorespiratory fitness performs better than the use of moderate physical training. Younger people who previously had a relatively low level of cardiorespiratory fitness benefit in particular.
In the future, one can look forward to what insights will be gained with regard to the immunomodulatory effects of intensified physical training. If you are curious, you might want to check out a recently published (and freely available) systematic review by the Dortmund working group, which deals with the effect of sports, movement and fitness on disease activity and progression (Fitness, physical activity, and exercise in multiple sclerosis: a systematic review on current evidence for interactions with disease activity and progression – PubMed (nih.gov))
Intensive training despite limitations
Even though there is still much research work to be done, these modern approaches show that there is no reason for MS sufferers to physically spare themselves. There is no evidence that even hard and intense training leads to negative effects. On the contrary, current scientific research suggests that intense and physically strenuous training in MS can achieve better effects than moderate training and may even have potential in terms of modifying the course of the disease.
For patients with more severe disability, the question of course arises as to exactly how to design the intensive physical training – here there are certainly bigger hurdles than for physically less impaired people with MS. However, there is an increasing trend in specialized MS rehabilitation centers to face this challenge and also introduce more severely affected patients to intensive physical training.
Note: HIIT is best trained with professional guidance and face-to-face. AMSEL does not offer HIIT, but does offer regular online workouts with a neuro-rehab trainer, also for more severely affected people. The currently running courses are booked up. From mid-March, sports enthusiasts can register for the new courses from May 2, 2023 on the AMSEL webinar page.
