Walking to music and metronome ticks at high and low tempi in persons with progressive MS: preliminary findings

Abstract

15-73 journals.sagepub.com/home/msj was judged only quantitatively, that is, impact scores were defined as the amount of additional clinical attention the patient needed because of psychiatric conditions. Results: 57% of an average of 82,5 hospitalized patients suffered at least one psychiatric condition with impact on intensity of care. Personality disorders were most common, followed by cognitive disorders without behavioral problems. By far, cognitive disorders had the highest impact on intensity of care. Conclusion: A brief screening of our MS-hospital population for psychiatric conditions with clinically significant impact on intensity of care showed that these conditions are common and, therefore, should be part of hospitalization policy. Based on both frequency and impact score, cognitive and personality disorders proved to have the highest impact on burden of care. Methodological aspects of this exploratory study are further discussed. Background: Walking dysfunctions are prevalent in persons with MS (PwMS), even more in progressive subtypes. The use of auditory stimuli is feasible in people with mild MS (PwMS) and may maximize rehabilitation outcomes. We investigated if progressive PwMS are able to synchronize gait to beats in music and metronomes during walking and its effects on perceived cognitive and physical fatigue. Methods: Participants walked to music and metronomes at preferred walking cadence (0%),-8%,-4%, +4% and +8%), while synchronization (Resultant Vector Length (RVL)), spatiotemporal gait parameters (cadence, speed, double support and stride length) and self-reported outcomes (concentration to synchronise and fatigue) were measured. To examine adaptability and to adjust for possible auditory processing delays, tempi higher or lower than preferred cadence were included. Results: 10 HC's and 9 progressive PwMS were included (age median = 49.4, EDSS (median = 4.4), gait speed (median = 0.84),