Yoga and water aerobics would be effective in reducing the symptoms of multiple sclerosis (MS)according to the results of a study published in the medical journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. These two activities could therefore be proposed as complementary therapy to reduce fatigue, depression and paresthesia, a disorder of tactile sensitivity, linked to MS.
Researchers from the University of Basel in Switzerland and Kermanshah (Iran) carried out a study to analyze the effects of yoya and water aerobics on the symptoms of SEP.
They divided 54 women affected by this pathology into three activity groups, yoga, aquagym or “inactivity”.
Study results showed that symptoms were significantly improved after an eight-week program of yoga and water aerobics. Compared with the control group, fatigue, depression and paresthesia were significantly reduced in patients who participated in a training program three times a week. In the ‘inactivity group’, the likelihood of moderate to severe depression was 35 times higher than in the groups that did yoga or water aerobics.
“Exercise training programs should be considered in the future as possible adjuncts to standard treatments,” the researchers conclude.
MS, a disabling disease
The multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disease that affects between 70,000 and 90,000 people in France. Each year, between 3000 and 5000 new cases are diagnosed, with a clear predominance in women. Difficulty walking, fatigue, weakness in the limbs, chronic pain are some of the symptoms of the disease. There is no treatment to cure MS.
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