Body Weight Supported Treadmill Training in Persons With Multiple Sclerosis

There is growing evidence that exercise-based rehabilitation results in improvements in
mobility and participation in persons with multiple sclerosis (MS). However, the vast
majority of the scientific evidence in support of this view is based on persons with MS who
have minimal mobility impairment. This is partially due to the lack of accessible exercise
equipment and facilities available to persons with severe mobility limitations.

One option available to persons with severe mobility limitations is body weight supported
treadmill training. Indeed, this rehabilitation approach has been utilized with some success
in various clinical populations, such as stroke and spinal cord injury, and is believed to
target neuroplasticity. Specific to persons with MS, body weight supported treadmill
training has shown great promise in improving quality of life, symptoms and functional
mobility in two small (n=4 and n=6) pilot investigations. However, previous research has
been hampered by methodological limitations including small sample size, lack of a control
group and limited training sessions. Consequently, no firm conclusion regarding the benefit
of body weighted supported treadmill training in persons with MS can be drawn. The proposed
project seeks to determine if twenty-weeks of body weight supported treadmill training leads
to improvements in physiological function, mobility and quality of life in persons with MS
with severe mobility limitations. The outcomes of this project have the potential to lead to
new rehabilitation approaches capable of improving function and quality of life in persons
with advanced MS.