Individuals With Multiple Sclerosis Exhibit More Regular Center of Mass Accelerations After Physical Therapy.
Brenda L Davies, Rashelle M Hoffman, Heidi Reelfs and 2 others
PMID 38482110WHAT IT FOUND
After six weeks of physical therapy, people with multiple sclerosis showed more regular body movements during walking.
However, their walking distance and speed did not improve enough to be considered clinically meaningful changes.
Key findings
01The intervention increased the regularity of center of mass accelerations during walking, indicating more stable movement patterns.
02Improvements in walking distance and speed were not statistically significant after adjusting for multiple comparisons.
03Greater improvements in walking endurance were correlated with greater improvements in movement regularity.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The study had a small sample size, which reduced the statistical power to detect significant changes in functional outcomes like walking distance. There was no control group receiving a different therapy, so it is unclear if the observed changes were due to the specific intervention or simply the passage of time. The improvements in walking distance and speed were smaller than the minimal detectable change, suggesting they may not be clinically meaningful for patients. There was no follow-up after the intervention to determine if the benefits lasted.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that the significant improvement in movement regularity translates to a clinically meaningful improvement in walking ability. The actual gains in walking distance and speed were small and did not meet the threshold for statistical significance after correction, meaning patients may not notice a functional difference.