Summary
Few interventions have been successful in improving gait dysfunction in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). Rhythmic auditory stimulation (RAS) has demonstrated positive results on gait performance in other neurologically impaired populations. Conklyn D, Stough D, Novak E, Paczak S, Chemali K, Bethoux F., Neurorehabil Neural Repair. 2010 Jul 19. [Epub ahead of print]
Details
The study objective was to measure the effects of rhythmic
auditory stimulation (RAS) on quantitative walking parameters in
ambulatory patients with MS.
Ten MS patients with gait disturbance were randomly assigned to
receive RAS versus no intervention for 2 weeks. All participants
received RAS for another 2 weeks. Between weekly clinic visits,
they were provided with MP3 players containing songs whose tempo
was 10% above the participant's spontaneous cadence and were
instructed to walk to the music 20 minutes daily. Quantitative
gait parameters were measured using the GAITRite system.
A statistically significant decrease between groups was found for
change in double-support time (left, P = .0176; right, P =
.0247), whereas trends with medium to high effect sizes were
found for other gait parameters, including walking speed. A
pooled within-group analysis showed significant improvement of
cadence, stride length, step length, velocity, and normalized
velocity after 1 week of treatment. Satisfaction level with RAS
was high.
CONCLUSIONS: These results in a convenience sample of MS
patients demonstrate the feasibility and safety of RAS when used
at home and suggest a potential benefit on gait parameters.