Changes in Functional Performance During and After a Supervised Exercise Programme in People with Multiple Sclerosis:...

Exercise is clinically relevant for people with multiple sclerosis (PwMS), but participation in structured programmes is often intermittent. This exploratory study described changes in functional and exercise-related outcomes during and after a supervised exercise programme.

This secondary uncontrolled longitudinal analysis included 20 adults with MS who had three consecutive assessments: before (T1) and after (T2) a 12-week programme comprising two weekly 60-min supervised sessions, and after an approximately three-month period without supervised training. Outcomes included functional performance, gait parameters, fatigue and exercise-testing outcomes. Linear mixed-effects models were used as the main longitudinal analysis, with paired Wilcoxon tests as complementary comparisons.

The median 2-Minute Walk Test distance increased from 121 m at baseline to 126 m after the programme and was 125 m at follow-up. The corresponding mixed-model estimate for T2 versus T1 was 5.00 m (95% CI: -0.29 to 10.29; p = 0.063), whereas the paired comparison yielded p = 0.046. Achieved workload, VO₂ estimated using the FRIEND equation, and percentage of predicted VO₂ achieved showed numerical increases after the programme, but these changes were not statistically significant. Most other outcomes remained broadly stable, with heterogeneous individual trajectories.

Modest within-group changes were observed in selected walking and exercise-test-derived outcomes, but the findings were not consistently supported across statistical approaches. Given the small sample and absence of a control group, the results should be considered exploratory and cannot establish programme effectiveness or programme-related preservation of function.