Rehabilitation in Multiple Sclerosis - Sometimes Too Much?

June 11, 2018 updated by: Sandra Kündig, Klinik Valens

Changes in Perceived Fatigue and Step Counts Before and After Rehabilitation. A Prospective, Single-center, Longitudinal Observational Study.

The primary objective is to evaluate changes in fatigue and physical activity (step counts) before and after rehabilitation in patients with MS (EDSS 3-6.5).

The association of changes in fatigue and physical activity will also be analyzed for disease severity (EDSS), age, emotional status (depression) of the participants.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Around 2 million people worldwide have multiple sclerosis (MS) and it is the most common neurological disease in young adults. The greatest incidence of MS is found in Europe (108 per 100'000). Over 50% of the patients with MS suffer from fatigue and reduced physical activity. The association between inactivity and fatigue is low in patients with mild disability.

Rehabilitation in Valens includes intensive strength and endurance training. Endurance and walking improve in most patients, evaluated during rehabilitation with the Timed-Up and Go (TUG) and 2 minute walking tests (2MWT). However, Clinic Valens occasionally gets feedback from physical therapists in the ambulatory setting, that outcome after rehabilitation is sometimes poor and some patients with MS (pwMS) seem to be over trained, less mobile, more fatigued and need to recover for several weeks. Physical therapists in Valens know that training is fatiguing. If they knew how many, and which patients are more fatigued and less active after rehabilitation they could reduce treatment intensity and prevent overtraining.

To the knowledge of the investigators no study evaluated changes after rehabilitation in fatigue, assessed with a disease specific questionnaire (FSMC), and mobility at home using accelerometers. Potential predictors of poor outcome are disease severity (EDSS), pre-rehabilitation fatigue and depression.

The primary goal of this study therefore is to evaluate changes in fatigue and physical activity (step counts) in pwMS assessed before rehabilitation, after rehabilitation and at 2 months follow-up.

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Actual)

28

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

      • Valens, Switzerland, 7317
        • Kliniken Valens

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (ADULT, OLDER_ADULT)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

The investigator plans to include at least 20 patients with multiple sclerosis with an EDSS 3-6.5, who come to Valens for rehabilitation from the end of August 2017 until July 2018.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • EDSS 3-6.5, an EDSS 6.5 means the ability to walk 20 meters without resting, using constant bilateral assistance
  • >18 years old
  • German speaking
  • good function of the upper extremity to put on Actigraph by themselves
  • participants should be able to wear the Actigraph at least 6h/day for 7 days

Exclusion Criteria:

  • inability to follow the instructions given, e.g. language problems, psychological disorders
  • no informed consent

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Changes in Fatigue
Time Frame: Fatigue will be first assessed before rehabilitation in Valens, the week right after rehabilitation and at 2 months follow-up with a questionnaire given to the participant.
The primary objective is to evaluate changes in fatigue before and after rehabilitation in patients with MS (EDSS 3-6.5). Fatigue will be assessed with the FSMC questionnaire at three different time points.
Fatigue will be first assessed before rehabilitation in Valens, the week right after rehabilitation and at 2 months follow-up with a questionnaire given to the participant.
Changes in Physical Activity/Step Counts (Actigraph GT3X)
Time Frame: The Actigraph device will be worn for three weeks in total. Before rehabilitation (whle participants are still at home), the week right after rehabilitation and at 2 months follow up.
The primary objective is to evaluate changes in physical activity (steps per day) before and after rehabilitation in patients with MS (EDSS 3-6.5). This will be measured by the Actigraph GT3X at three different time points.
The Actigraph device will be worn for three weeks in total. Before rehabilitation (whle participants are still at home), the week right after rehabilitation and at 2 months follow up.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
quality of life in association with changes in fatigue and physical activity
Time Frame: The quality of life will be assessed before rehabilitation in Valens, the week right after rehabilitation and at 2 months follow-up with a questionnaire given to the participant.
The association of changes in fatigue and physical activity will also be analyzed for quality of life of the participants. This will be measured by the Hamburg Quality of Life Questionnaire (HAQUAMS) at three different time points.
The quality of life will be assessed before rehabilitation in Valens, the week right after rehabilitation and at 2 months follow-up with a questionnaire given to the participant.
emotional status (depression) in association with changes in fatigue and physical activity
Time Frame: The emotional status will be first assessed before rehabilitation in Valens, the week right after rehabilitation and at 2 months follow-up with a questionnaire given to the participant.
The association of changes in fatigue and physical activity will also be analyzed for the emotional status of the participants. This will be measured by the hospital anxiety and depression scale (HADS) at three different time points.
The emotional status will be first assessed before rehabilitation in Valens, the week right after rehabilitation and at 2 months follow-up with a questionnaire given to the participant.

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
diary while wearing the Actigraph device
Time Frame: While measuring physical activity by the Actigraph a diary will be completed during one week before rehabilitation, the week right after rehabilitation and at 2 months follow-up
A diary to record other activities than walking e.g. cycling, yoga, swimming will be provided during the 7 days of measurement with the Actigraph, because the device is not able to detect activities like yoga or cycling.
While measuring physical activity by the Actigraph a diary will be completed during one week before rehabilitation, the week right after rehabilitation and at 2 months follow-up
2 minute walking test
Time Frame: on the first day of rehabilitation and on the last day of rehabilitation, around 3 weeks between the two measurement time points. The rehabilitation in Valens will be planned between August 2017 and July 2018.
2MWT (2 minute walking test) to see changes in walking speed and distance before and after rehabilitation in Valens
on the first day of rehabilitation and on the last day of rehabilitation, around 3 weeks between the two measurement time points. The rehabilitation in Valens will be planned between August 2017 and July 2018.
Timed up and Go
Time Frame: on the first day of rehabilitation and on the last day of rehabilitation, around 3 weeks between the two measurement time points. The rehabilitation in Valens will be planned between August 2017 and July 2018.
TUG (timed up and go) will be assessed before and after rehabilitation to see changes in equilibrium and walking abilities
on the first day of rehabilitation and on the last day of rehabilitation, around 3 weeks between the two measurement time points. The rehabilitation in Valens will be planned between August 2017 and July 2018.

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Sandra Kündig, BSc, Klinik Valens

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (ACTUAL)

August 27, 2017

Primary Completion (ACTUAL)

March 30, 2018

Study Completion (ACTUAL)

June 4, 2018

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

May 28, 2017

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 13, 2017

First Posted (ACTUAL)

June 15, 2017

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (ACTUAL)

June 12, 2018

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 11, 2018

Last Verified

June 1, 2018

More Information

Terms related to this study

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 2017-00728

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

Clinical Trials on Multiple Sclerosis

Clinical Trials on Actigraph GT3X

Search Similar Trials