An active approach to fighting MS Former national bobsleigh team member refuses to let disease slow her down

“During my training, I started to experience symptoms and I went to see a specialist,” the Vancouver resident recalled in an interview.

The news wasn’t good.

When multiple sclerosis progresses, the results can be devastating, particularly for an athlete. Symptoms include loss of balance, impaired speech, extreme fatigue, double vision and paralysis.

Traditionally, doctors have advised people with MS to rest, but Louman-Gardiner didn’t let the disease slow her down.

She no longer competes at the international level, but she’s still more active than most Canadians.

“I’m on a variety of sports teams, including ultimate Frisbee, and I participate in a number of activities, including the Warrior Dash up in Whistler,” said Louman-Gardiner, referring to a competition for runners that includes stunts such as crawling under barbed wire.

“I also cycle everywhere, all the time. I bought a new bike and in the first month I had 1,000 kilometres on it. I listen to my body, and if I’m tired I go to bed. I take my medication and get on with things.”

According to Suzanne Jay, director of communications, for the BC and Yukon Division of the MS Society of Canada, having an active lifestyle to mitigate the debilitaing effects of the disease is an emerging area of study.

“In the past, people with MS were told to cut back if they got tired, and this led to being very sedentary,” said Jay. “Some researchers have changed their medical approach and see resting all the time with MS to be counterproductive. Katherine is unique because she keeps such as active lifestyle and it’s working really well for her.”

A study published in 2009 by Australian researchers from Queensland University found that exercise improved the overall quality of life of patients with MS. Of 121 patients studied, 52 exercised regularly, 69 did not. Those who did exercise reported improvements in terms of reduced fatigue and depression.

Researchers speculated that fatigue was eased because exercise altered a certain protein molecule in the MS patients, increasing energy levels, while depression may have been eased by factors such as increased endorphin levels (the so-called runner’s high) and the patients’ increased belief in their own abilities to perform physical functions.

Such studies could prove invaluable to Canadians. In Canada it is estimated that anywhere from 55,000 to 75,000 people have the disease. It is the most common neurological disease affecting young adults in the country, with women three times more likely than men to be diagnosed with it. MS attacks the myelin, which is a protective covering wrapped around the nerves of the central nervous system.

For Louman-Gardiner, keeping active made sense. She’d followed the same approach her entire life, and it was what landed her on the national bobsleigh team to begin with.