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Purpose

Individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS) experience in impairments in mobility and cognition that increase the risk for accidental falls. More than 50% of individuals with MS experience injurious falls within a 6-month period. Current interventions to improve fall risk have focused on forward walking (FW) and balance training, resulting in small declines in the relative risk for falls with a large degree of variability. Interestingly, motor differences between MS and healthy controls are more pronounced in backward walking (BW), yet no studies have investigated BW training as an intervention to reduce fall risk in persons with MS. This study will investigate the feasibility, acceptability and impact of BW training compared to forward walking training on motor function and fall risk in persons with MS.

Conditions

Eligibility

Eligible Ages
Over 18 Years
Eligible Sex
All
Accepts Healthy Volunteers
No

Inclusion Criteria

  • Diagnosis of MS - PDDS <6, indicating ability to ambulate with or without an assistive device >/= 50% of the time - Self-reported walking dysfunction as evidenced by a score of >/= 30 on MSWS-12 OR reports of 2 or more falls in the prior 6 months, indicating a frequent faller.

Exclusion Criteria

  • MS relapse within the past 30 days - comorbid neurological disorder - acute orthopedic disorder/injury - unable to follow study-related commands

Study Design

Phase
N/A
Study Type
Interventional
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention Model
Parallel Assignment
Primary Purpose
Prevention
Masking
None (Open Label)

Arm Groups

ArmDescriptionAssigned Intervention
Experimental
TRAIN-BW 		1x/week for 8 weeks + home exercise program
  • Behavioral: Backward Walking Training
    Training will consist of BW training on both a treadmill and overground. All participants will receive 1x/week training with a trained member of the research team, who will progress the participant week-to-week and ensure safety. Treadmill speed will be determined by baseline BW walking speed and incrementally increased with each training week to subject tolerance. Participants will follow a home exercise program for the remainder of the week that includes BW, backward stepping, and functional exercises that incorporate BW movements.
Active Comparator
TRAIN-FW 		1x/week for 8 weeks + home exercise program
  • Behavioral: Forward Walking Training
    Training will consist of FW training on both treadmill and overground. All participants will receive 1x/week training with a trained member of the research team, who will progress the participant week-to-week and ensure safety. Treadmill speed will be determined by baseline FW walking speed and incrementally increased with each training week to subject tolerance. Participants will follow a home exercise program for the remainder of the week that includes FW, forward stepping, and functional exercises that incorporate FW movements.

Recruiting Locations

Wayne State University
Detroit 4990729, Michigan 5001836 48201
Contact:
Nora Fritz, PhD, PT, DPT, NCS
(313) 577-3495
nnlwsu@gmail.com

More Details

Status
Recruiting
Sponsor
Wayne State University

Study Contact

Nora Fritz, PhD
313-577-3495
nnlwsu@gmail.com

Notice

Study information shown on this site is derived from ClinicalTrials.gov (a public registry operated by the National Institutes of Health). The listing of studies provided is not certain to be all studies for which you might be eligible. Furthermore, study eligibility requirements can be difficult to understand and may change over time, so it is wise to speak with your medical care provider and individual research study teams when making decisions related to participation.