The effect of core stability exercises on functional capacity and fatigue in patients with multiple sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic progressive disease on the central nervous system with signs and symptoms such as fatigue and reduced functional capacity. The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of core stability exercises on functional capacity and fatigue in patients with multiple sclerosis.
The present quasi-experimental study used a pretest-posttest design. The subjects with the age of 20-40, expanded disability status scale (EDSS) 1-4 and purposefully and voluntarily selected and randomly allocated to the experimental and control groups. Training program for groups were carried out in eight weeks, three sessions per week and each session one hour. Functional reach test (FR) was used to measure functional capacity and Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS) was used to measure fatigue. The data were analyzed by paired and independent sample t-test at a significance level of 0.05.
The results showed that core stability training led to a significant increase in functional capacity and a significant reduction in fatigue (P≤ 0.05). Also significant differences observed in functional capacity and fatigue scale in post-test between experimental and control groups (P≤ 0.05).
According to research findings, the core stability exercises can be factor for considerable improvement in functional capacity and reduced fatigue in patients with multiple sclerosis. . Furthermore, the respective specialists can use these exercise as a complementary treatment along with the drug therapy for patients with multiple sclerosis.