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Yoga,
Exercise Beats Fatigue in Multiple Sclerosis
Despite anecdotal evidence that people with multiple sclerosis
should avoid exerting themselves, new research suggests
that some exercise, including yoga, may combat their fatigue.
Investigators found that six months of regular exercise
-- either riding a stationary bicycle or practicing yoga
in specially tailored programs -- improved general energy
levels in people with relatively early forms of multiple
sclerosis (MS).
Fatigue is a significant complaint among MS patients, and
these findings suggest that people with the condition should
try to stay active and not avoid exercise after their diagnosis,
study author Dr. Barry S. Oken of Oregon Health & Science
University in Portland told Reuters Health.
The results are "reassuring that we can get patients
out there and try to get them into some kind of fitness,"
he said.
Doctors who advise MS patients to avoid exerting themselves
"have probably been too conservative telling them not
to exercise," Oken added.
He and his colleagues presented their findings last week
during the American Academy of Neurology's 55th annual meeting
in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Multiple sclerosis, which afflicts about a million people
worldwide, is a chronic disorder of the central nervous
system in which the immune system, for unknown reasons,
attacks the myelin sheath that insulates nerve fibers in
the brain and spinal cord.
Over time, the disease can lead to numbness, muscle weakness
and stiffness, impaired vision and coordination problems.
To determine whether exercise can help people with MS, Oken
and his colleagues split 69 MS patients into three groups.
Over six months, one group enrolled in a weekly yoga class
geared toward people with the condition, another enrolled
in a stationary bicycle exercise class for MS patients and
were given their own stationary bike to take home, while
the rest maintained their normal activity levels.
After six months, participants in the normal-activity group
were allowed to enroll in the program of their choice.
All of the MS patients in the study had a relatively early
form of the disease and were still able to walk, either
unassisted or with a cane.
At the end of the six-month period, MS patients said they
generally felt more energized.
However, they still had the same difficulty in performing
tasks such as climbing stairs or reading as before the exercise
program began.
It would have been better to see exercise-related improvements
in other areas besides general fatigue, Oken noted, but
he added that he was encouraged to see that patients did
not get worse as a result of exercise.
In terms of which exercise works best for MS patients, the
researcher recommended that patients choose whatever program
they prefer -- either yoga or stationary bikes -- which
avoid problems with balance.
If patients like the program, they are more likely to keep
up with it, Oken said.
"Picking an activity that people want to do becomes
more important," he noted.
Article Source: Reuters Health
Article Author: Alison McCook
Net Reference 89
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