A new study conducted at the Department of Rehabilitation and Movement Science of the University of Vermont, reinforces the idea that multiple sclerosis patients can handle exercise regimens, despite their mobilitydifficulties, in order to improve not only their motor capacities, but also their quality of life. Although over 90% of patients report having difficulties with mobility, maintaining it is one MS patients’ highest priorities.

Susan Kasser, PhD, was able to demonstrate that patients with MS tolerate exercise, and that it improves their fitness, function, and quality of life, in her study ”Understanding and Treating Balance Impairment in Multiple Sclerosis,” which was conducted in collaboration with Jesse V. Jacobs, PhD, and was recently published in the Journal of Clinical Outcomes Management.

“Given the inherent variability of MS and the heterogeneity of symptoms and disease course across individuals, no single exercise prescription is optimal for all those diagnosed. Treatment goals must be individualized,” explained Kasser, who is the director of the Exercise and Movement Science Program and is an associate professor of Rehabilitation and Movement Science at the University of Vermont.