Relationship between dynamic balance, fatigue and motor fatigability during walking in persons with MS (R-7169)

The copresence of fatigue and balance disorders is quite high since 63% of People with Multiple Sclerosis (PwMS) are fallers and 65% of them report fatigue. Besides, motor fatigability exists which is a decline in walking speed over time, and is present in half of disabled persons with MS. The improvement of functional walking and the decrease of fatigability may prevent falls and the impact of these disorders on activities of daily living. Our previous studies (in Italy) were focused on 1) the relationship between fatigue and balance and results suggest that there is no decrement in motor performance when PwMS are fatigued 2) the effect of treadmill rehabilitation on fatigue where we found that treadmill training was effective in reducing the level of perceived exertion, with a small impact on HR, whereas there was no effect on balance. Our results and recent studies suggest there is no definitive agreement on the relationship between fatigue and mobility. Thus, further studies need to be done to better understand the relationship between fatigue, fatigability and gait kinetics and kinematics in PwMS. In addition, it is important to understand clinical factors associated to fatigue and fatigability. The aims of the collaborative research are to investigate: 1) the relationship between fatigue and gait parameters by the variation of the kinematic and kinetic variables after a sustained walking. 2) the association between motor fatigability and clinical factors. PwMS will be assessed with tests to describe patient's level of fatigue, walking and balance impairments and weakness, sensation, spasticity and tremor profiling the motor and sensory capacity. A wearable device (Xsens) will be used to assess the impact of motor fatigue on walking skills and dynamic balance instrumented variables after the 6-minutes walking test. Clinical tests will be performed right after the end of the test to assess correlation between clinical factors and fatigue-induced variation of walking features.

Keywords:Rehabilitation of internal diseases

Disciplines:Morphological sciences