Objective

Maintaining physical activity for patient with neurological disorders is recommended for patient with multiple sclerosis (MS). The main objective was to assess physical activity and rehabilitation programs in patients with multiple sclerosis and compared it to recently published recommendations. The secondary objective was to evaluate the patient self-perception of these interventions on pain, fatigue, strength and global satisfaction.

Materials/patients and methods

A prospective multicenter study conducted in the four counties of Brittany for patients with MS attending a consultation with a neurologist in the MS network “NeuroSEP Bretagne”. Data were collected by a self-administered questionnaire including: neurological involvement, qualitative and quantitative practice of rehabilitation activity and/or sport, self-evaluation using a Liekert scale and evaluation of fatigue using the fatigue severity scale (FSS).

Results

One hundred and sixty seven questionnaires were analyzed (out of 250 sent). Only 32.34 % ( n = 54) of patients had regular physical activity (including sport and/or physiotherapy) in accordance to recommendations, and 30% had no physiotherapy and physical activity. In a multivariate analysis, an EDSS superior to 4 was the only negative predictor of physical activity ( p = 0.049). Physical activity is considered beneficial for symptom respectively 63.1% ( n = 77) of patients with an average of 0.71 on the Liekert scale for sport, and 85.9% ( n = 67) of patients for physiotherapy with an average 1.14.

Discussion/Conclusion

The level of physical activity in MS patients is insufficient in our population. Educational programs and adapted activities are needed to improve patients’ care.