The assessment and physical management of symptoms in MS
Sun 16.00 - 17.00 (H1)
Biography: Dr. Lorna Paul
Physiotherapist
Graduated as Chartered Physiotherapist
from Queen’s College in Glasgow and
worked as an NHS Physiotherapist
before becoming Lecturer in
Physiotherapy, Glasgow Caledonian
University. Completed her M.Phil degree
studying ‘Falls in the Elderly’, finishing her
PhD on ‘Aspects of Motor Performance
in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome’. She
became HealthQWest Reader within the
division of Nursing and Health Care at the
University of Glasgow.
The UK, particularly Scotland, has one
of the globally highest incidence rates
of MS. The unit’s multi-disciplinary
research group includes physiotherapy,
occupational therapy, exercise
physiology, neuropsychology, dietetics,
epidemiology and health statistics. The
research aims to relieve the symptoms
of MS and reduce the levels of disability
for people with it. The group involves
both academic and NHS staff and works
closely with Dr Mattison and his team‘s
Managed Clinical Network for MS within
NHS Ayrshire and Arran and also the
Physical Disability Rehabilitation Unit
within the Southern General Hospital,
Glasgow. They have collaborators across
the West of Scotland, the University of
Stirling and the University of Exeter.
Scotland and New Zealand are similar regarding terms of incidence of MS and issues of providing effective rehabilitation to people with MS living in remote and rural areas. They are working in collaboration with the University of Otago in New Zealand to address these issues.
Abstract
This presentation provides an overview of some non-pharmacological work looking at the effectiveness of some treatments offered to people affected by MS to reduce symptoms, disability and improve overall quality of life.
Joint contractures, where they become tight, painful and difficult to move, can be a significant problem. Whilst physiotherapy can help there is little research to determine its effectiveness.
Knee joint contractures were stretched and a splint applied for up to two hours. People had daily treatment at home for three weeks. The results showed that joints were much freer but one month after the treatment finished the contracture had returned. So we need some way of maintaining joint movement and preventing contractures occurring in the first place.
The benefits of Whole Body Vibration (WBV), where people stand or exercising on a vibrating platform to reduce the symptoms of many medical conditions are widely reported but the evidence to support these claims is limited and weak.
A small pilot study examined the effects of WBV on muscle strength, tone and functional ability in people affected by MS. The results of this small study, showed that performing exercise on the vibration plate was no more effective than exercise alone for people with MS.
Leg muscle weakness can lead to ‘drop foot’, making walking difficult. Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) electrically stimulates lower leg muscles to help with walking. A study to see how much more energy people with MS needed to walk and if using FES helped reduce that energy found that people with MS with drop foot required more than twice as much energy compared to healthy controls., The use of FES was very beneficial in reducing energy requirements.
New data from the effectiveness of an eight week home-based physiotherapy programme for those severely affected by MS should be available.
