Ana Torres-Costoso1, Vicente Martínez-Vizcaíno2, Sara Reina-Gutiérrez3, Celia Álvarez-Bueno4, María José Guzmán-Pavón1, Diana P Pozuelo-Carrascosa5, Rubén Fernández-Rodríguez3, Mairena Sanchez-López6, Iván Cavero-Redondo7. 1. Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Facultad de Fisioterapia y Enfermería, Toledo, Spain. 2. Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Health and Social Research Center, Cuenca, Spain; Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Autónoma de Chile, Talca, Chile. Electronic address: Vicente.Martinez@uclm.es. 3. Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Health and Social Research Center, Cuenca, Spain. 4. Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Health and Social Research Center, Cuenca, Spain; Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Facultad de Enfermería de Cuenca, Cuenca, Spain; Universidad Politécnica y Artística del Paraguay, Asunción, Paraguay. 5. Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Facultad de Fisioterapia y Enfermería, Toledo, Spain; Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Health and Social Research Center, Cuenca, Spain; Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha. Grupo de Investigación Multidisciplinar en Cuidados (IMCU), Campus de Fábrica de Armas, Toledo, Spain. 6. Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Health and Social Research Center, Cuenca, Spain; Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, School of Education, Ciudad Real, Spain. 7. Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Health and Social Research Center, Cuenca, Spain; Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Facultad de Enfermería de Cuenca, Cuenca, Spain; Rehabilitation in Health Research Center (CIRES), Universidad de las Americas, Santiago, Chile.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: A network meta-analysis (NMA) of current evidence was conducted to determine if physical exercise has a positive influence on multiple sclerosis (MS) fatigue and type of exercise with the largest effect on fatigue also according to disease severity. DATA SOURCES: MEDLINE, Embase, SPORTDiscus, Physiotherapy Evidence Database, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science. The search strategy combined relevant terms related to (1) MS; (2) clinical trials; (3) exercise; and (4) fatigue from inception to February 2021. STUDY SELECTION: Randomized controlled trials concerning the effectiveness of different types of exercise on total and physical fatigue in people with MS were included. DATA EXTRACTION: The data were extracted into predesigned data extraction tables. Risk of bias was evaluated with the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool (RoB 2.0), and the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation tool was used to evaluate the quality of the evidence. DATA SYNTHESIS: A total of 58 studies were examined. Data were pooled using a random-effects model. A ranking of 7 and 8 different exercise interventions for physical and total fatigue scores, respectively, was achieved. The highest effects for pairwise comparisons were for combined exercise and resistance training vs control (ranging between -0.74 and -1.24). In the NMA, combined exercise (-1.51; 95% confidence interval [CI], -2.01 to -1.01) and resistance training (-1.15; 95% CI, -1.81 to -0.49) compared with the control group achieved the highest effects for physical and total fatigue, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Exercise should be considered an effective fatigue management strategy. Among the different exercise modalities, combined exercise is the most effective exercise modality for improving both physical and total fatigue. Resistance training is also an effective exercise for total fatigue among people diagnosed with MS.
OBJECTIVE: A network meta-analysis (NMA) of current evidence was conducted to determine if physical exercise has a positive influence on multiple sclerosis (MS) fatigue and type of exercise with the largest effect on fatigue also according to disease severity. DATA SOURCES: MEDLINE, Embase, SPORTDiscus, Physiotherapy Evidence Database, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science. The search strategy combined relevant terms related to (1) MS; (2) clinical trials; (3) exercise; and (4) fatigue from inception to February 2021. STUDY SELECTION: Randomized controlled trials concerning the effectiveness of different types of exercise on total and physical fatigue in people with MS were included. DATA EXTRACTION: The data were extracted into predesigned data extraction tables. Risk of bias was evaluated with the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool (RoB 2.0), and the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation tool was used to evaluate the quality of the evidence. DATA SYNTHESIS: A total of 58 studies were examined. Data were pooled using a random-effects model. A ranking of 7 and 8 different exercise interventions for physical and total fatigue scores, respectively, was achieved. The highest effects for pairwise comparisons were for combined exercise and resistance training vs control (ranging between -0.74 and -1.24). In the NMA, combined exercise (-1.51; 95% confidence interval [CI], -2.01 to -1.01) and resistance training (-1.15; 95% CI, -1.81 to -0.49) compared with the control group achieved the highest effects for physical and total fatigue, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Exercise should be considered an effective fatigue management strategy. Among the different exercise modalities, combined exercise is the most effective exercise modality for improving both physical and total fatigue. Resistance training is also an effective exercise for total fatigue among people diagnosed with MS.