Telephone-Delivered Exercise for Multiple Sclerosis Fatigue

Wayne State University

Status: Completed

Conditions: Physical Activity; Multiple Sclerosis; Fatigue

Treatments: Behavioral: In-Person Delivered Exercise Therapy; Behavioral: Telephone-Delivered Exercise Therapy

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT03256851

1612000180

Details and patient eligibility

About

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a progressive demyelinating disorder that damages white matter in the central nervous system. Although individuals experience mobility (e.g., walking, balance) impairments that lower quality of life and limit participation in daily activities, one of the most prominent symptoms is fatigue. Up to 92% of individuals report fatigue that manifests as lack of energy, exhaustion or worsening of MS symptoms and ultimately contributes to increasing disability. The currently available pharmaceutical treatments fail to fully control fatigue in the majority of individuals with MS; non-pharmacologic therapies such as exercise and behavioral therapies offer the best hope for combating MS fatigue in the majority of individuals.

Exercise therapy is effective in reducing MS fatigue. However, access to exercise therapy is seriously limited for many individuals with MS due to geographical location, limited resources (e.g., financial, transportation), and/or disability. Thus, the development and evaluation of an alternative delivery method for exercise therapy to target MS-related fatigue that increases participation and reduces barriers is critical.

In this study, the investigators will compare traditional in-person delivered exercise therapy to telephone-delivered exercise therapy to target fatigue in persons with MS.

Enrollment: 20 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Diagnosis of RRMS, SPMS, or PPMS
• Ambulatory for at least 5 minutes at a time
• Self-reported fatigue on Fatigue Severity Scale
• Able to follow study-related commands
• Able to attend study appointments

Exclusion criteria

• MS exacerbation within the past 30 days
• Evidence of another neurological disorder or orthopedic disorder that would interfere with exercise participation
• Acute illness or injury that prevents participation in the intervention
• Pregnancy

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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20 participants in 2 patient groups

In-Person Delivered Exercise

Active Comparator group

Description:

Participants in the in-person training group will: 1. participate in a home exercise program including aerobic training 2x/week and strength training 3x/week. 2. complete one of their prescribed training sessions (lasting 1 hour total) each week with a physical therapist or trained member of the research team. Training sessions will focus on progression of aerobic and strength training exercises.

Treatment:

Behavioral: In-Person Delivered Exercise Therapy

Telephone-Delivered Exercise

Experimental group

Description:

Participants in the telephone-delivered training group will: 1. participate in a home exercise program including aerobic training 2x/week and strength training 3x/week. 2. receive a 60-minute, 1x/week telephone call from a trained research team member. Participants will report their progress from the prior week, discuss/troubleshoot any issues or problems, and receive progressions of both aerobic and strength training exercises for the upcoming week.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Telephone-Delivered Exercise Therapy