Supervised exercises versus telerehabilitation. Benefits for persons with multiple sclerosis

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of structured telerehabilitation on fatigue, health status, quality of life (QoL), and activities of daily living (ADL) and compare the possible effects with structured supervised exercise programs in patients with Multiple Sclerosis.

Materials and methods: This study was a randomized, single-blind trial. Thirty patients with relapsing-remitting Multiple Sclerosis were included in the study and randomly divided into two groups; structured supervised exercise group (Group 1) and telerehabilitation group (Group 2). Group 1 (n = 15) completed a 12 week structured supervised exercise program. Group 2 (n = 15) completed a 12 week structured home-based exercise program. Patients were evaluated with functional independence measure (FIM), first section of Nottingham Health Profile (NHP-I), fatigue severity scale (FSS), and quality of life scale (QoLS) before and after the intervention.

Results: Significant differences were found in all parameters in both groups after the treatment (p < .05). No significant difference was found between groups regarding FIM-total, FIM-motor, FIM-cognitive, NHP sub-parameters, and QoLS (p > .05). Between-group differences revealed a significant difference in FSS and NHP total in favor of Group 1 (p < .05).

Conclusion: A structured home-based exercise program can be an alternative to supervised exercises with no side effects in patients with multiple sclerosis. Home-based rehabilitation exercises that are checked and controlled through telerehabilitation can help patients improve their health-related QoL and ADL. However, supervised exercises can be more beneficial regarding the fatigue and health profile compared to the home-based exercises.