Investigating the Impact of Treadmill-integrated Virtual Reality Training on Walking Outside the Clinic

People with multiple sclerosis (MS) often have trouble with walking and balance, which can increase the risk of falls and make daily life harder. While therapy can improve walking in a clinic, it is not always clear if those improvements carry over to real life at home or in the community. In addition, most walking tests are done over short periods and may not show how a person moves throughout the day. This study will look at new ways to better understand and improve walking in everyday settings. Researchers will use a treadmill-based virtual reality program, along with smart socks that track walking during daily activities. This approach will help show how people respond to training and whether those changes last outside the clinic. Standard care for people with MS usually includes physical therapy and clinic-based walking tests, but these may miss important changes in daily movement.

Participants will be asked to provide basic health information and complete surveys about their walking, fatigue, balance, thinking, and quality of life at different times during the study. They will also complete simple walking and balance tests to measure their mobility. As part of the study, participants will take part in a 6-week treadmill-based virtual reality training program, with two sessions each week. During the study, they will wear smart socks that collect information about how they walk in their daily lives, including before, during, and after the training program. These socks will track how often they walk, how steady they are, and how their walking changes over time. After the training ends, participants will continue wearing the socks for several weeks so researchers can see if improvements last. The results will help researchers learn if this approach can improve walking, lower fall risk, and support better mobility and quality of life for people living with MS.