PTCase ReportFrontiers in rehabilitation sciences2026

Case Report: Improving gait and fatigue in multiple sclerosis through wearable electrical stimulation: a single-patient study.

Serena Filoni, Francesco Romano, Daniela Cardone and 6 others

PMID 42040650

WHAT IT FOUND

After a month of home wearable electrical stimulation, one woman with multiple sclerosis showed faster walking, longer walking distance, quicker Timed Up and Go, and less reported fatigue.

This was a single case with no control, so it cannot show the suit caused the gains.

Key findings

01The patient walked 320 m at baseline and 395 m at 1-Month, and walked 10 m at 0.82 m/s at baseline and 1.23 m/s at 1-Month.

02Timed Up and Go time was 16.26 s at baseline and 10.16 s at 1-Month, and the Modified Fatigue Impact Scale total was 41 at baseline and 35 at 1-Month.

03At Follow-Up, the patient walked 330 m and reported a Modified Fatigue Impact Scale total of 40.

STILL TO COME

How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs

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What it does not show

This is a single-case report, so it describes what happened to one patient and cannot show that the suit works for other people with multiple sclerosis. There was no control group or sham stimulation, so practice effects, expectation, natural symptom fluctuation, or other unmeasured factors cannot be ruled out. The patient had mild-to-moderate stable disease, no recent relapses, no new lesions, and no disease-modifying or pharmacological treatment, which limits how far the result applies to more active, more disabled, or medicated patients. A single evaluator who knew the treatment timeline performed the clinical tests, which could introduce measurement bias. The paper did not include direct neurophysiological measures such as EMG or TMS, so the proposed mechanisms remain hypotheses. Follow-up was only one month after stopping, so it is unclear whether gains last longer or require maintenance sessions. For some Hunova parameters, such as CoP ellipse area or stabilization time, accepted minimal clinically important differences are not established.

Declared interests

The authors declared that no financial support was received for this work or its publication.

The easy way to misread this

Do not conclude that the Exopulse Mollii Suit improves gait, balance, or fatigue in multiple sclerosis. This was a single case report with no control group, so the changes could reflect practice effects, expectation, natural fluctuation, or other factors.

Summarised by AI from the full paper, without a clinician reviewing it. Check it against the source before it changes what you do. Read it on PubMed →