The Effect of Inspiratory Muscle Training on Balance and Postural Control in Multiple Sclerosis Patients

May 2, 2025 updated by: Tuğçe Duman Özkan, Marmara University

The goal of this study is to investigate the effect of inspiratory muscle training (IMT) in Multiple Sclerosis (MS) patients on balance and postural control. The main question it aims to answer are:

• Is IMT effective in improving balance and postural control in MS patients? Participants will be randomly divided into two groups. One group will be given only balance exercises. The other group will be given IMT treatment in addition to balance exercises.

Study Overview

Detailed Description

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic, inflammatory, demyelinating and neurodegenerative disease of the central nervous system (CNS). MS is a disease that usually progresses with attacks and can lead to progressive disability and severely restrict the quality of life in patients due to the accumulation of sequelae after attacks or the development of a progressive degenerative process. Somatosensory findings, motor findings, postural control-balance and coordination disorders, bladder-intestinal problems, visual, cognitive and psychiatric findings, fatigue and sleep disorders are seen in patients related to the CNS involvement site.

Balance, one of the International Classification of Functioning headings, is a skill included in activity and participation, expressing the body's ability to maintain its upright position against gravity, and reflects stability limits. Balance impairment is one of the most common problems in patients with MS and is one of the factors that cause disability. Lesions in the brain stem and cerebellum cause loss of postural control and balance. There are many causes of loss of balance: visual symptoms, optic neuritis, vestibular changes, somatosensory changes, ventromedial tract lesion, tone changes, loss of muscle strength, incoordination.

Respiratory dysfunction in individuals with MS is an important problem that starts from the early period of the disease, increases in severity with the progression of the disability and causes mortality. Considering the pathophysiology of respiratory problems in MS, unlike other neuromuscular diseases, demyelinating lesions are found and spread in one or more areas related to breathing in the brain and spinal cord. The location and size of the plaques were associated with muscle weakness.

One of the methods used in the field of pulmonary rehabilitation in MS patients is Inspiratory Muscle Training (IMT). The muscles responsible for primary inspiration are the diaphragm, external intercostal muscles, and scalene muscles. Inspiratory muscle training increases inspiratory muscle strength, type 1 muscle fibers, reduces dyspnea, increases maximum minute ventilation and 6-minute walking distance and quality of life. It is usually applied at 30% of the maximal inspiratory pressure (MIP) value for 30 minutes a day.

The effect of the core muscles is great in providing balance and postural control. The diaphragm forms the roof of the core muscles and plays an important role in the mobility of the thorax. Training the diaphragm muscle, like other muscles, is important for maintaining dynamic and static balance. IMT can help stabilize thoracic mobility by strengthening the diaphragm and scalene muscles, contributing to the stability of chest movements and improving transfer skills.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

29

Phase

  • Not Applicable

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

    • Şişli
      • Istanbul, Şişli, Turkey
        • Prof. Dr. Cemil Taşcıoğlu Şehir Hastanesi

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

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Having a diagnosis of relapsing-remitting MS with an EDSS of 1.5-5.5
  • Having a Mini Mental Test score greater than 24
  • Being between the ages of 18-65

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Having a neurological disease other than MS
  • Having an attack while working
  • Problems other than MS that may affect balance
  • Have a diagnosis of cardiac or pulmonary disease that will affect breathing

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

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Treatment Group
IMT: Inspiratory Muscle Training. Five days per week, 30 minutes per day.
Inspiratory muscle training (IMT) is a therapeutic technique which involves specific training of respiratory muscles to yield improvements in inspiratory muscle strength and respiratory function.
Balance exercises involve functional movements at the individual's maximum level of independence.
Active Comparator: Control Group
Balance exercises: It has been specially designed for the patient.
Balance exercises involve functional movements at the individual's maximum level of independence.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Mini-BesTEST
Time Frame: Fifteen minutes

Mini-BESTest consists of 14 items divided into four subsections. In the Mini-BESTest evaluation, each item receives a three-point score.

rated on an ordinal scale (0= lowest function ranging from level to 2= Normal function level). The total score is the sum of the scores obtained from these items. and ranges from 0 (worst) to 28 (best).

Fifteen minutes
Trunk Impact Scale
Time Frame: Ten minutes
The Trunk Impact Scale (TIS) consists of three subscales: static sitting balance, dynamic sitting balance and co-ordination. Each subscale contains between three and ten items. The TIS score ranges from a minimum of 0 to a maximum of 23.
Ten minutes

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Falls Efficacy Scale International
Time Frame: Fifteen Minutes
The Falls Efficacy Scale-International (FES-I) is a short, easy to administer tool that measures the level of concern about falling during 16 social and physical activities inside and outside the home whether or not the person actually does the activity. The level of concern is measured on a four-point Likert scale (1=not at all concerned to 4=very concerned).
Fifteen Minutes
Multiple Sclerosis Quality of Life-54 (MSQOL-54)
Time Frame: Twenty minutes

The Multiple Sclerosis Quality of Life-54 (MSQOL-54) was developed by using the RAND 36-item Health Survey 1.0 (SF-36) as a generic core measure, to enable comparisons of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of patients with multiple sclerosis to those of other patient populations and to the general population.

To enhance comparisons within groups of multiple sclerosis patients, these items were supplemented with 16 additional items in the areas of health distress, sexual function, satisfaction with sexual function, overall quality of life, cognitive function, energy, pain, and social function.

The final measure, the MSQOL-54 Instrument, contains 54 items.

Twenty minutes
Activities-Specific Balance Confidence Scale
Time Frame: Ten Minutes

The Activities-Specific Balance Confidence (ABC) Scale is a patient-reported outcome measure that asks individuals to rate how confident they are that they will not lose their balance while performing 16 different activities.

The ABC Activities range from common tasks like walking around the house to less common and more challenging situations, like stepping off of a moving escalator while carrying packages. The patient is asked to rate their confidence in their balance, while performing 16 activities, on a percentage scale of 0 to 100, where 0 is a certainty of falling or becoming unstable and 100 is complete confidence in the patient's own ability to stay balanced.

Ten Minutes
Two minutes walking test
Time Frame: Four minutes
The Two/2 Minute Walk Test (2MWT) is a measure of self-paced walking ability and functional capacity, particularly for those who cannot manage the longer Six Minute Walk Test (6MWT) or 12 Minute Walk Test.
Four minutes
Pulmonary Function Test
Time Frame: Ten minutes
Pulmonary function tests (PFTs) allow health proffessionals to evaluate the respiratory function of their patients in many clinical situations and when there are risk factors for lung disease, occupational exposures, and pulmonary toxicity.
Ten minutes

Collaborators and Investigators

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

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)

March 6, 2023

Primary Completion (Actual)

February 26, 2024

Study Completion (Actual)

June 26, 2024

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

December 29, 2022

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

October 4, 2023

First Posted (Actual)

October 10, 2023

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

May 6, 2025

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 2, 2025

Last Verified

May 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

The IPD will not be shared with other researchers.

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

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.

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