Introduction:
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is the most common disease in the central nervous system. This autoimmune response causes destruction and inflammation of the myelin sheath (1). The mentioned pathological processes lead to disturbances in the functions of the central nervous system, which include fatigue, movement disorders, inability to walk, and difficulty in balance (2). These symptoms can lead to the inability to perform daily tasks and reduce the quality of life (3). The analysis of gait parameters is valuable in order to improve the diagnosis of the mechanism of movement disorders. This non-invasive method based on walking dynamics has a high potential to diagnose different types of neuromuscular disorders (4). The aim of this study is to compare internal-external ground reaction forces between MS patients with and without physical activity and healthy subjects during walking.
Methodology:
In this study, subjects (male and female) were divided into three groups: 14 MS patients with physical activity (active), 16 MS patients without physical activity (inactive), and 17 healthy subjects. Kinetic data were measured in barefoot conditions using a dynamometer plate (Kissler 1000 Hz) and the value of ground reaction force components in three directions was calculated using the MATLAB program.
Results:
One-way analysis of variance with Tukey's post hoc test at a significance level of 0.05 was used for statistical analysis of data. The findings of the research showed that in the group of patients with active MS compared to the group of patients with inactive MS, there was a decrease in the average internal-external force (P≤0.005) and peak external force (P≤0.018).
Conclusion:
The results of this research showed that active patients used less force in the internal-external direction compared to the inactive patient group. These results show that the group of active patients perform better in maintaining balance. Since maintaining balance during activity is one of the most important challenges faced by MS patients, reducing the forces associated with maintaining balance indicates better performance in active patients.