MS research update - 29 January 2010
- Study highlights role of spasticity in posture control in MS
- MS affects levels of motivation and involvement in different activities
Study highlights role of spasticity in posture control in MS
Spasticity is a common symptom experienced by people with MS. The present study sought to determine whether the presence or extent of this symptom bears any relation to postural control (the ability to maintain an upright stance and maintain an upright stable position through movement).
Sixteen people with MS were assessed for spasticity and compared against a group of healthy volunteers in performing upright movements. The findings of the study showed that people with a high level of spasticity showed greater postural sway (a phenomenon whereby you temporarily lose central balance and then regain it).
The authors of the study comment on the increased risk of falls in people with MS and the contribution decreased postural control may have.
Sosnoff JJ, Shin S, Motl RW.
Multiple sclerosis and postural control: the role of spasticity.
Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation 2010;91(1):100-5.
Medline abstract
MS affects levels of motivation and involvement in different activities
The present study conducted interviews of ten people with MS focusing on levels of involvement and motivation in different activities focusing on three areas: daily living activities including self-care; play (such as engagement in hobbies and games); and work.
Participants were asked which activities they were involved in on a typical day and whether they felt their level of involvement and motivation to engage in these activities had changed over the years since the onset of MS.
The interviews were recorded and considered in greater detail. Common themes emerging out of the interviews included: the inability to continue taking part in activities they had previously engaged in or in the way which they preferred; a loss of social interaction they had once enjoyed; and a loss of self-confidence.
The study authors highlight the importance of individual accounts of reduced involvement in and motivation to continue with activities once engaged in and suggest that occupational therapists give due consideration to such factors in devising programmes of support for people with MS.
Lexell EM, Lund ML, Iwarsson S.
Constantly changing lives: experiences of people with multiple sclerosis.
American Journal of Occupational Therapy 2009; 63(6):772-81
Medline abstract