The Impact of COVID-19 Lockdown Restrictions on Exercise Behavior Among People With Multiple Sclerosis Enrolled in an Exercise Trial: Qualitative Interview Study.

8 participants is a small convenience sample from 2 sites in the southeast United States, so it does not represent all people with MS. All participants were women, so men’s experiences were not captured. The facility group had a 3-week gap before remote coaching was provided, and the authors could not know whether this affected their experiences. Participants received several components together: exercise prescription, behavioral coaching, newsletters, self-monitoring, and different delivery modes, so the effect of any single component cannot be separated. The study reports perceptions, not measured exercise outcomes, and did not capture depression, comorbidities, or exercise outside the trial protocol. It could not tell whether being assigned to an arm versus choosing an arm changed the lockdown experience.

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest.

Do not conclude that telerehab is better than facility-based exercise or that it caused continued exercise. These were 8 women’s perceptions during lockdown, and the facility group had a 3-week gap in coaching that could have affected motivation. The trial also included coaching, self-monitoring, newsletters, and exercise prescription, so no single component can be credited.