Effects of Different Exercise Therapies on Balance Function and Functional Walking Ability in Multiple Sclerosis Disease Patients—A Network Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

Zikang Hao, Xiaodan Zhang and Ping Chen
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Zikang Hao: Department of Physical Education, Laoshan Campus, Ocean University of China, 238 Song Ling Rd., Qingdao 266100, China
Ping Chen: Department of Physical Education, Laoshan Campus, Ocean University of China, 238 Song Ling Rd., Qingdao 266100, China

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 12, 1-17

Abstract: The objective of this research is to assess the effects of seven different exercise therapies (aquatic exercise, aerobic exercise, yoga, Pilates, virtual reality exercise, whole-body vibration exercise, and resistance exercise) on the balance function and functional walking ability of multiple sclerosis disease patients. Materials and Methods: The effects of different exercise interventions on the balance function and functional walking ability in people with multiple sclerosis were assessed by searching five databases: PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and CNKI; only randomized controlled trials were included. The included studies were assessed for risk of bias using the Cochrane assessment tool. Results: The RCTs were collected between the initial date of the electronic databases’ creation and May 2022. We included 31 RCTs with 904 patients. The results of the collected data analysis showed that yoga can significantly improve patients’ BBS scores (SUCRA = 79.7%) and that aquatic exercise can significantly decrease patients’ TUG scores (SUCRA = 78.8%). Conclusion: Based on the network meta-analysis, we suggest that although each type of exercise is useful, yoga, virtual reality training, and aerobic training are more effective in improving the balance function of people with MS; aquatic exercise, virtual reality training, and aerobic training are more effective in improving the functional walking ability of people with MS.

Keywords: rehabilitation; yoga; aquatic exercise; multiple sclerosis disease; network meta-analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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