The Effect of Eight Weeks of Training Aerobic and Resistance on Selected Functional Capacities Among Women With Depression and Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disease with a very high prevalence all over the world in recent years. Therefore, this research intended to examine the impact of resistance and aerobic exercises on selected functional capacities and cognitive indicators in depressed women with multiple sclerosis (MS).

The current study was semi-experimental with a pre-test and post-test design. In this survey, 30 women with MS (25-50 years old) with an expanded disability status scale range between 0-5.5, and depression among those who visited the neurology clinic at Guilan University of Medical Sciences (Bethat) were selected. The study included a control group (n=10) and two intervention groups: resistance (n=10) and aerobic (n=10) exercises. To evaluate the variables of stress, depression, fatigue, and functional capacities, the following questionnaires and tests were used: Perceived stress scale, Beck’s depression inventory, fatigue severity scale, 10-meter walk test (10MWT), 6-minute walk test (6MWT), timed up and go (TUG), and 30-second chair stand (30 CST) tests. Exercises of aerobic were done at an intensity of 40_60% of the maximum rate of heart for 10-30 minutes. Home-based resistance training, including a hypertrophy phase (four weeks), and strength and power phase (four weeks) was conducted at an intensity of 0.5-1.5% of the subjects’ body weight. The duration of the training for both groups was eight weeks. The data were analyzed by repeated-measures two-way ANOVA by SPSS software, version 26. The significance level was set at 0.05.

Both resistance and aerobic training had a significant intra-group impact on various factors (P≤0.05). Specifically, perceived stress (p=0.01) and depression level (p=0.001), and 10-MWT (p=0.01), 6MWT (p=0.001), and 30 CST (p=0.001) results showed statistically notable improvements. Regarding the inter-group effect, notable dissimilarities were seen in depression and functional strength of lower limbs (30 CST) among the three groups (p≤0.05). Noteworthy, variations were also found in fatigue and the timed up-and-go test.

Both aerobic and resistance exercises can be considered effective interventions for improving depression, perceived stress, and functional capacity in individuals with MS.