Moving to Music Shows Promise to Improve
Fitness for People with MS
A
study funded by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and
Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR).
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic,
progressive central nervous system disease, and people with MS may develop
challenges with mobility or balance. For people with MS, participating in
regular exercise may become more difficult over time as symptoms progress.
Dance and yoga are two types of exercise that may be readily adaptable to an
individual’s particular level of strength, flexibility, and balance. These
exercises may be enjoyable and effective in improving physical fitness of
people with MS. In a recent NIDILRR-funded study, researchers tested the
effects of a dance program called Movement to Music (M2M) and a yoga program
called Adapted Yoga (AY) on the physical fitness of individuals with MS. They
wanted to find out whether either program led to improved mobility, balance, or
endurance for the participants with MS.
Researchers studying Dose-Response Effects of Transformative Exercise in
Improving Health and Function in Adults with Stroke and Multiple Sclerosis
enrolled 81 people with MS in a study. All participants had mild or moderate
mobility limitations, but they were able to exercise using their arms, legs, or
both. The participants were randomly divided into three groups: A Movement-to-Music
(M2M) group, an Adapted Yoga (AY) group, and a control group who did not
participate in an exercise program.
The participants in both the M2M and the AY
groups participated in hour-long exercise classes 3 times per week for 12
weeks. The participants in the M2M group engaged in a series of dance exercises
designed to improve their range of motion, balance, cardiovascular endurance,
and strength in their arms and legs. The participants in the AY group engaged
in traditional yoga routines that used various stationary poses along with
relaxation techniques to obtain specific body alignments. For both the M2M and
the AY classes, the exercises became progressively more challenging over time.
Both classes offered adaptations for participants’ level of mobility. For
example, the participants in the M2M group could use a dance barre for
assistance, or they could perform some of the movements while seated if they
had difficulty standing for long periods of time. The participants in the AY
group were offered straps or a chair for support if needed.
The participants in the control group did not
attend any exercise classes. Instead, they received newsletters in the mail
twice each month with general information about living with MS. The
participants in the control group were instructed to keep up their usual
physical activities.
Before and after the 12-week study, the
participants in all three groups completed three physical fitness tests. First,
the participants completed the “Timed Up and Go” test to test their mobility
and balance. The researchers measured how long the participants took to stand
up from a chair, walk a distance of 3 meters, turn around, walk back, and sit
down. Second, the participants completed the “6-Minute Walk Test” to test
their endurance. The researchers measured the distance the participants could
walk in a 6-minute time period. Finally, the participants completed the “Five
Times Sit-to-Stand Test” to test their leg strength, where they were timed in
how long it took for them to stand up and sit down five times.
The researchers found that, between the
beginning and end of the study period, the participants in the M2M group showed
substantially more improvement in their mobility and balance and in their
endurance compared to the control group. The participants in the AY group
showed no improvement in these areas compared to the control group. Both M2M
and AY groups showed no improvement in their leg strength compared to the
control group.
The M2M program was designed to target mobility
through enhancing range of motion, strength, endurance, and balance. In this
study, the participants who engaged in M2M showed improved mobility, balance,
and endurance after 12 weeks of practice, while the participants who engaged in
adapted yoga did not show measurable improvements in these areas. The authors
suggested that the rhythmic-based program may have been beneficial because it
involved more dynamic movements, where the AY program consisted of more
stationary poses. Another explanation could be that the yoga program may not
have specifically targeted mobility or endurance. Future research may be useful
to identify the role of rhythmic movement and music as part of exercise
programs for people with MS.
Rehabilitation providers may wish to consider
developing exercise programs that incorporate music and dance, and that target
muscle strengthening, endurance, and balance to improve overall physical
fitness for people with MS.
To Learn More
James Rimmer, PhD, principal investigator for
this project, discussed this study and its results in the March 2019 RehabCast podcast from the Archives of
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.
Movement 2 Music continues to be studied and
expanded under a new grant. Learn more about the program and opportunities to
participate.
The National Center on Health, Physical
Activity, and Disability (NCHPAD) has a wealth of information on ways to
improve health and fitness, including adaptive sports and inclusive wellness. Learn more about designing an exercise program to support
wellness with MS.
To Learn More About this Study
Young, H-J., Mehta, T.S., Herman, C., Wang,
F., Rimmer, J.H. (2019) The effects of m2m and adapted yoga on physical and
psychosocial outcomes in people with multiple sclerosis. Archives of
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 100, 391-400. This article is available
from the NARIC collection under Accession Number J80947.
Date published:
2020-01-22
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Research In Focus is a publication of the
National Rehabilitation Information Center (NARIC), a library and information
center focusing on disability and rehabilitation research, with a special focus
on the research funded by NIDILRR. NARIC provides information, referral, and
document delivery on a wide range of disability and rehabilitation topics. To
learn more about this study and the work of the greater NIDILRR grantee
community, visit NARIC at http://www.naric.com or call 800/346-2742 to
speak to an information specialist.
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