Physical Therapy and Multiple Sclerosis (MS)

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The symptoms of multiple sclerosis (MS) can affect your ability to move around. You may be experiencing tightness, pain, and weakness, especially in the muscles and joints. Physical therapy may help.

Physical therapy cannot cure the primary symptoms of MS (such as weakness, tremors, tingling, numbness, loss of balance, vision impairment, paralysis, and bladder or bowel dysfunction), but therapy can enable you to compensate for the changes brought about by MS. These "compensatory treatments," as they're called, include learning about new movement techniques, strategies, and equipment.

Physical therapy can also be very helpful at lessening and even stopping secondary symptoms of MS. A physical therapist can teach you exercises to strengthen and loosen muscles. Many of these exercises can be performed at home. The goal of physical therapy is to improve your independence and quality of life by improving movement and function and relieving pain.

Physical therapy can help with:

• Balance problems
• Lack of coordination
• Fatigue
• Pain
• Immobility
• Weakness

How Do I Find a Physical Therapist?

Many hospitals offer outpatient physical therapy services. However, you may need to get a doctor's order to be seen in physical therapy. If you feel you can benefit from physical therapy, ask your doctor for a referral.

How Many Visits Will I Need to Get Relief?

Treatments in physical therapy often can be completed in one to three office visits. The first appointment includes an evaluation and recommendations for exercises. The following appointments check your progress and review and expand your home program.

Most hospitals can provide additional sessions of outpatient physical therapy if a physical therapist is needed to attain an expected improvement in function.

What Other Services Does Physical Therapy Provide?

• Recommendations: A physical therapist can make recommendations for physical therapy at home, at an outpatient facility, or at a nursing or rehabilitation facility.
• Work capacity evaluations: Many physical therapists can perform functional capacity evaluations to provide more information for disability claims based on physical performance. This functional capacity evaluation can be useful when the Social Security office denies disability to a person who is unable to work for an eight-hour day.

Reviewed by the doctors at the Mellen Center for Multiple Sclerosis Research at The Cleveland Clinic.

Edited by Cynthia Haines, MD, WebMD, August 2005.